I am 18, in college and have real life responsibilities -- like writing this article. Plus, I’ve left my comfortable, cold, home state in search of the sunshine and a marvelous academic adventure. I guess you could call it living on my own but I’m still extremely thankful for my parents for taking care of my phone plan, meal plan, insurance and all the fun stuff! So what does all this mean?
I’m in charge of feeding myself, budgeting my not so plentiful wallet, doing my own laundry (and not forgetting about it in the washer because my dad can’t dry and fold my clothes if I forget). I have to learn to stay on top of things and manage my time. Unfortunately, I now wake up to an obnoxious alarm that sounds from under my pillow, rather than my mother and her soft whispers insisting I go to school.
Granted, some don’t see me as an “adult” because I don’t have a mortgage payment, car payment and I’m borderline 5 feet tall, but let me tell you student loans are a real thing! And I now am expected to plan out my future, and be a self- advocate with concrete future plans.
Don’t get me wrong, I may be an “adult” but I still eat spaghetti O’s and Uncrustables in my dorm. I definitely sing and dance to myself when my roommates are in class. And of course, I still use Yahoo Answers and Google, constantly starting with the phrase “how to.” I walked around campus on the first day of classes with my printed schedule, looking like a little gecko lost in the desert until someone pointed me in the right direction. But the best “adulting” advice anyone could receive (besides realizing you aren’t Peter Pan and can’t stay a child forever) is to ask for help! Everyone is learning together, and who better to help us than those who have learned from first-hand experience. So appreciate the articles your mothers and grandmothers send you and the links to advice that you receive from your friends and family members. Be thankful for the letters of “Do’s and Don’ts” from your big sister and the pieces of advice you hold in a jar on your desk. Be accepting of others' wisdom because this change is not meant to be easy, but everyone around you is doing their best to help.
“Teenagers are treated like children but expected to act like adults." It can be up to us to change this. The way the world tells us to respond is with fear.
Adulting doesn’t have to be such a downer, though! I mean yeah, it’s hard and confusing and, to be 100% honest, I have no idea what I’m doing, but that’s the fun of it. I get to build the rest of my life right now and learn from my mistakes.
There will always be days you feel like the guy spotted from the coffee shop window, drudging across campus wearing the bold blue t-shirt that says “I don’t feel like adulting today” and to be honest pal, I don’t either. But it doesn’t have to be all bad.
