I recently turned 25 and that means that for 10 years I have been driving, paying for my own gas, and working. I’ve paid for my own food for 7 years I added paying for my own groceries, fun, and luxuries (if I wanted an expensive item I had to save up for it such as my Universal Annual Pass). But for 24 years I did not pay for my housing/rent, schooling, car insurance, or clothing (and probably plenty of other things). So since I went to college, my mom has called me a Kid-ult. I’ve enjoyed my Kidult life where I’ve learned to live on my own and make my own decisions with my parents always there armed with love and a lecture whenever I needed it. And until very very recently (seriously I’m talking like the last couple months of my life) I have considered myself a resident of the Kidult world. What changed to get me quickly evicted from my Kidult home? I bought a car.
The process of buying a car made me realize I am an adult now. I found the car, got my own loan, my own car insurance (that I now pay for), took my check and drove off the lot with my very first big girl purchase. I started thinking of all the things I now pay for myself, and realized that all I don’t pay for myself is my phone… but I work for the family business and my phone is my current payment.
When we were younger we thought that making our own decisions was what made adults, adults. But now that we are here, it’s clear that paying for your life buys you the right to make your own decisions. I came across this thread and realized that I do have my life figured out at 25. Sure I want to grow in my career, a good relationship, a dog, and to have all my debts paid off (student loans, am I right). But there is no such thing as “figuring your life out” we just have to live and do what brings us joy! So what if singing Disney songs makes me happy? So what if I have anxiety? Anxiety just means that I have things to care about. So what if people see me as a child? We all have our moments, and I’ll take that as a compliment (just paws off my margarita). Being an adult isn’t about having it “figured out”. If life is figured out there would be no variation from day to day. We wouldn’t make new friends and meet our partners. We wouldn’t go out with our friends when you get off work super late. We wouldn’t make memories, and that wouldn’t be a life worth living.
I am an adult and surprisingly, I think I’m ok with that.
The Wordy Over Thinker 