The Era Of Adulting

Isn't it the question of the hour: "How does one adult?"

Personally, my answer would range somewhere between "you just do it," or "...".

Maybe you can only relate to this if you are within the age of 16 and 22, but there is a certain stigma the phrase "adulting" has in the country right now. Actually a certain cringe it comes with.

We young people or young adults have these expectations put on us that somewhere between high school and college you have the responsibility of becoming an adult and doing things for yourself and on your own. You pay for your own things, you have a job, car payments, make your own doctor appointments, and buy your own groceries. While this seems ordinary and many older people will say something along the lines of "this is how it is," or "getting old is tough, so get tougher," we are quite scared out of our minds and wish we had a little more support.

I don't have any issues with the concept of being an adult because, yes, it is something we all have to do one day, but I don't appreciate being talked down to because I'm in the learning process of it. I don't enjoy the pressure or assumption that I know what I'm doing or that I have to learn on my own.

Maybe it's just me, but I never learned how to write a check, or pay bills. Obviously growing up with a guardian you don't need to do certain things for yourself so of course we new adults are going to have trouble with what is the norm.

I know how to order my own food, but I didn't learn about taxes.

I'm not blaming parents or teachers, I'm not blaming anybody. I am simply saying we all need help and guidance. The world is scary, growing up is scary. While many of us are excited with the idea of owning our very first home, many of us have never done it before and we need to know that we aren't changing our entire character in one day because we finally moved past the teenage years.

I need to know it's OK not to know how to "adult."

I need to know older folks aren't going to expect me to know how to do everything they know.

I want to learn, but it does take time, and I'm going to have mini-heart attacks and make mistakes along the way.

The reality is yes there are tons of us learning the ropes of being an adult and we know it's possible but we are scared -- incredibly intoxicated by the idea and eager, but scared.