Yes, we technically became adults at our eighteenth birthday and, yes, we still cannot rent a vehicle until our twenty-fifth, but at age twenty we've entered the third decade of our lives and shit just got real. So far, this is what I've learned and how I cope.

1. Recognize what you're in for.

Everything is not suddenly dark and stormy, but you do need to stay on top of life. In order to relax with heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer, we need to pay bills and taxes, which means we need jobs, which means we need a good resume, good grades, adequate connections and to appear capable. Okay, I've stressed myself out. Let's continue.

2. Recognize you're not the only one.

Everyone struggles, no matter how put together they may seem.

3. Know your support system and have various effective coping mechanisms.

Who is in your support system and who can you go to for encouragement and aid? Maybe you have found two people who you can go to for anything. For a fatalistic response that always centers me, I go to my housemate in the attic; for a logical approach when I'm in need of realism, there's another friend; to cry out my heart, there's a third. On and on the list goes.

However, we cannot survive leaning on others. Make sure you have potent coping mechanisms. The rest of these tips are examples of ways to successfully tussle with life.

4. Allow yourself the occasional freak out.

Screaming can be cathartic. Crying certainly is. Two of my friends bonded over dinner, when they realized the other also allowed herself one good cry a week. For me, this would signal an excessive meltdown, but to each her own.

5. Make lists.

This is my number one way to not feel overwhelmed. I'll even write down a task after I've completed it just to cross it off instantly. It may seem silly at first, but remember this is for you so no one else needs know. A pro con list for big decisions will ensure your thought process is thorough. A list of your beliefs about the world will help you maintain that world after a heartbreak or loss. They are not end-all-be-all solutions, but listing your to-dos will lend you that sense of control that adulthood deprives us of.

6. Never underestimate the power of a good sleep.

Sleep can conquer anything. Konk out for twenty minutes to revive yourself before finishing an assignment or for thirteen hours to kill a cold.

7. Protect your inner child, meaning take care of yourself.

"If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." - Buddha

8. Laugh.

Try your best-est, but never take yourself nor life too seriously.

Maybe some people were emancipated at age fifteen and maybe others will live with their parents after college, but for most of us now is when we enter adulthood. Good luck. Buena suerte. Safe travels. Quel marth.