Amidst all of the excitement of summer and new jobs and the adventures that await you, you almost forget that you're growing up. Of course, we're always talking about it and joking about how we're "adulting" now (or maybe you really are being an adult now, which is awesome) — but, when does it really start to become true? Maybe for you it's college — an obvious step into your future adulting adventures. Maybe you moved out on your own — definitely an adult thing to accomplish. But there are some of us who maybe haven't felt that big push out of the nest yet — those of us who start to notice small things in our daily lives.

For example: our behavior may begin to change. Personally, I'm always acting silly and making stupid jokes or noises to my family members and friends. But something I've noticed is my the way I converse with people outside of my comfort zone. I've noticed that I start more conversations now and ask people about their lives and little things like where they grew up and how they got into the career they're in. Maybe it's just me, but these aren't questions I was asking a year ago.

Something that goes hand in hand with this is how people treat you. When people find out I'm in college, their whole demeanor changes. A year or two ago, when I would tell people what grade I was in, their behavior to me always felt very superior and mature. Now, I feel like people see me more as an adult who is figuring out my life and my future. I know I'm still young and I've got a lot to learn, but you can tell the obvious difference in the way people talk to you once you've been away from home for months to learn for your future.

Something that's so simple that I notice is how I wake up on my own. Now, I've been getting myself up for a few years, but my dad would always come in and check on me to make sure I was up in high school. Now, I work almost every day of the week and no one comes in to make sure I'm getting ready. It's up to me to not be late and, if I am, it's up to me to call my boss and apologize profusely and try to explain away inability to be up in time.

I know there are many people out there who have already lived this freedom for quite sometime, but, I have not. Until I was 18, my mom wanted to know where I was at all times and, even after I turned 18, she still wanted to know and I still had regulations on my freedom during the school year. Now, I don't really have to ask anymore, I can just walk into my parents' room and tell them I'm "going out with the girls" and I hear "Alright, be safe, I love you!" and I don't have to text Mom every time I leave somewhere. To help keep my mom sane, though, I do let her know where I'm most likely going to be and if I'll be late or not.

The fact that I can't just go to my mom anymore and ask, "What's going on this week?" stresses me out sometimes. My mom doesn't even always know when I work, it's up to me to remember everything. That probably sounds silly to some people because I relied very heavily on my parents until I left for college, but for my mom to not know exactly where everyone will be each day is strange. It's to a point now where she has to ask me sometimes what's going on during the week. It's a very strange feeling.

Now, obviously not everyone has experienced these and I know there are people out there that are my age and have been living on their own for a while now; but, for those of you who haven't hit the "adulting" point yet, cherish it. I know I'm still young and I barely do anything worthy of being called "adulting," but, my life is changing and I am very aware of it. I'm still holding onto that kid who used to stay up late every summer night watching movies, but I love being the college kid who goes to bed early during the summer to get up and go to one of three jobs just to have money to spend for the summer and save for the school year.