Just because you're over 18 doesn't mean you're an adult. And just because you're 23 with a college degree doesn't make you an adult. Here is a list of things that are clear indicators that despite your age, you're still not an "adult" (whatever that means)...
1) It's a Saturday morning/Sunday morning and you're curled up on a couch and the world is spinning around you. Do you want to get up and try to puke or continue to lay on this couch (that definitely isn't your's) and hope that this feeling passes? And while you're laying on that couch, real adults are getting ready for brunch. Or hiking. Or things. I can't even tell you what they're doing because I have no idea. I am on that couch with you.
2) You've seen every episode of every show on Netflix multiple times. I lost track of how many times I've rewatched The Office. But, you're really getting your money's worth of your Netflix subscription. Real adults go see movies. In theaters. You just illegally download movies and watch them curled up in bed, nursing a hangover or crying.
Also, your friends use that Netflix too. There are at least 8 of you using one Netflix account because $8 is a lot of money and if someone else can afford to pay for it, then you need to mooch off them.
3) Crying is a regular thing.
At work. In the car. At the bar. On a boat....you get the idea.
4) You have no idea how your friends have so much money. Are they secretly pimps or something? How do they afford everything? You didn't eat lunch for an entire week just so you could buy a bottle of cheap wine and you're barely able to afford anything else.
5) You don't own anything other than a bed and maybe a desk. Possibly a bookshelf. You're going to be totally lost when you move out of wherever you are. How do you even buy dishes?
6) You hate your job. Everyone tells you to quit because you come home and cry (see #3). Or you just complain about it all the time. You know you should quit. But the money is okay. You guess. (You don't even know how much money you should be making -- what is a salary?). So, you don't quit because you're afraid you'll never really find anything better.
7) Once a week, you have a day where nothing terrible happens, but it leaves you totally shaken and confused. You wonder "Who am I?" "What the fuck am I doing?"
8) People talk about "building a wardrobe." But, you still buy most of your clothes from Forever 21 or Target. You probably own one thing that has to be dry cleaned (or in my case, three! Does that mean I'm moving up in the world?)
9) To you, "making dinner" consists of a cheese crisp. And you're so proud of it, you even posted it to your Instagram. When someone you're dating says he/she can cook, you immediately jump at the opportunity for a meal. And whenever visiting your family, raiding the fridge for left-overs is a must.
10) You're in that weird in-between stage of post-college graduation and "real life" (Whatever that is). Part of you misses school because it was easy, but then who wants to do homework? People ask what you're doing and you have no idea.
11) Relationships are scary. If you're in one, you wonder, "Is this the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with?" If you're not in one, you wonder, "Will I ever get married?" Facebook is your own personal hell - engagement pictures make you wonder if you'll ever have that. And you constantly compare your life to everyone else's.
None of these things are terrible. Or even bad. Growing up is hard. And just because everyone thinks you're an adult, you don't have to be.
You're allowed to think all these things and still live on a couch. It's okay.
I hope.Labels: growing up, lists