Summer is finally over. It has been more than 3 months. These last three months have been long and full of work, and a lot has happened this summer. I have moved off campus and live with great roommates. They have been a bit of a struggle sometimes, but have been overall great people to live with. Now entering my last year of college I have to learn one thing; how to adult. I have been doing this for the last three to four months and it has been very difficult. I have had to learn how to manage my money, and I have been able to work a stable job and be independent.
I think that it's funny that when we are young all we want to do is to grow up. Now all I want to do is be a child again and be dependent on my parents. Growing up has been difficult. Now I have to worry about the same things my parents worry about: pay my bills, rent, have a stable job with stable income all while still being a full-time student. Now that I live off campus, I have to worry about cooking for myself as well as making sure I can manage my money and not spend it all.
The one thing that I wish I had learned while growing up and going to school was how to become a proper adult. I wish school had given me the necessary tools for when I live on my own for the first time.
Even though becoming a full fledged adult has been difficult and scary so far, it has had its good moments. The very first time I felt like an adult was the first time I went grocery shopping by myself. Yes, a simple task like grocery shopping made the light bulb go off. It was one of the first times that I was buying the food that I would use to cook and eat with my own money and without my parents.
The other day I went shopping for furniture and I was worried because I didn't know if I would be able to afford it. These last few months with traveling and working, I haven't had the opportunity to fully settle in. I have been sleeping on the floor in the meantime. But now in a few days, I will finally have a fully functioning bedroom. When I went furniture shopping, I was approved for credit and was able to get my new bed and furniture to go with it. I felt great because it was the first step into adulthood where I didn't have to rely on my parents to buy my furniture.
I am a few days away from starting senior year. This just means I am one more year closer to being part of the real world and having to apply for real jobs. I'll eventually have to start paying off my student loans as well. I will no longer be a college student, but an adult. The real world scares me but it is normal to feel that way. I just hope that this year will prepare me for what is to come for life after graduation.
