I recently turned 19 this summer, meaning I survived my first year as a legal adult.

Growing up, I longed to reach adulthood; I longed for the independence, the freedom, and the control of my own life. Little Becca practiced making gourmet meals for herself in the play kitchen, teaching all her stuffed animals how to do math and dreaming of how she would decorate her future home.

But then I started growing up. I started to realize the countless responsibilities adults have. I watched both my parents have full time jobs, then come home and cook, clean, pay bills and take care of me and my sister. It seemed like all of the "fun" aspects of being an adult were overshadowed by the responsibilities that came along with adulthood.

Then, the moment came. I turned 18 and was officially an adult.

At first, it was really strange to think of myself as an adult. I still saw myself in high school, and the fact that I would be moving out of my house to go to college a few months after my birthday didn't seem real. So naturally, I went on Pintrest to try and find tips and tricks for how to be a successful adult. There, I came across a vortex of ideas on how to be a functioning adult; how to be more organized, how to decorate an apartment, how to budget, how to be a good roommate... The list went on and on.

Secretly, being an adult terrified me. How in the world was I supposed to figure all of this out? I didn't take a class in high school called "How to Survive as an Adult," even though there definitely should have been one, and I felt as if there was this secret book that every other adult except me had which told them how to function successfully, happily and effortlessly.

Thankfully, I realized I didn't have to have everything figured out the moment I turned 18. I wish someone would have the courtesy to tell you that when you first become an adult. "Hello, welcome to the adult world. You will make a lot of mistakes." You will accidentally turn a white shirt pink while doing laundry, you will burn food then eat it because you're so hungry, and you will have to call home and ask for help for pretty much everything under the sun. I feel like there's this big expectation that society has for new adults, that we're supposed to have figured it all out.

But the thing is, there no "correct" type of adult to be. Everyone has their own different way of managing their life; some people go with the flow, some love making plans, and some are a mixture of both. The point is, it's ok to not have everything in order the moment you turn 18. The real secret to being an adult is being able to stand up when life knocks you down. To eat the burnt piece of food and laugh about it later, it makes for a good story.

So, if you're like me and are new to this whole adult concept, know that you don't have to be the perfect, Pintrest adult that we see in movies and read about in books. Have fun, make mistakes, and remember that no one else really knows what they're doing either!