It’s not like we’ve never heard advice about being an adult.
Chances are, we’ve been inundated with suggestions about interviewing for jobs, paying rent, filing taxes and just being responsible. But there are many things about the adult world that no one cared to fill us in on when we were 22 years old, just exiting that quasi-adult period that was college.
When you’ve really been on your own for a few months, you’ll wish someone had thought to fill you in on these 12 truths about being an adult.Disney Channel movies are the great equalizer.
Nothing bridges the gap with other 20-somethings more quickly than a heated debate about whether Zenon was better than Double Teamed or Halloweentown.
Owning a car kind of sucks.
All we wanted before turning 16 was a car to call our own. But as an adult? Insurance payments, gas, unexpected repairs, tolls, parking tickets…it all adds up fast. Throw in city living with the sometimes insurmountable struggle that is parallel parking, and you may find yourself longing for the days when your parents chauffeured you around.
Food is expensive.
Long gone are the days of a pantry stocked by your mom or an unlimited buffet at the dining hall. Whether you cook for yourself or head to restaurants, feeding yourself is costly. It never seemed that way when we were crushing Dunkaroos or Gushers back in the day.
There is nothing worse than going to the grocery store hungover.
Your grocery bill will be through the roof. You will buy all the unhealthy things. You may have to duck into a bathroom that hasn’t been cleaned in years. Avoid this at all costs.
You’ll never outgrow your mom.
Maybe you hated her in high school, maybe you pretended you didn’t need her in college. You’re an adult now; you know better. Mom can tell you how to file your taxes and how to get renters’ insurance. Mom can tell you how to bake a chicken or get your oil changed. Mom can tell you to have a glass of wine after a bad day, can listen like no one else can and she can hug like she means it. And Mom is always in your corner.
Being a good friend is hard.
You can no longer count on seeing your friends every day in class or at lunch. You may, in fact, go weeks or months without seeing some of your very favorite people, and it’s all too easy to let the time between speaking add up, too. Being a good friend requires you to make plans and answer phone calls.
You can’t stay in touch with everyone.
Because being a good friend is so tough, you’ve got to let people go. When you graduate high school, you can’t imagine losing touch with your best friends. Then college happens, and you think, “These are my people. I’ll talk to them forever.” The reality is, though, that staying in touch takes time and effort on both ends, and you can’t keep that up for everyone. Choose wisely.
There won’t be a point when you’ve “made it.”
As a kid, we all had this notion that adults somehow “get it.” They must have things figured out—they’re grown ups! But now that we find ourselves past the time when anyone can legitimately call us kids, we realize that’s not the case. We’re always working towards something, and that’s OK. “Making it” shouldn’t be a goal because that means there’s no more growth and no more progress.
There is no “perfect job.”
While we should all strive to find a job that we love, it’s time to recognize that perfect doesn’t exist anywhere, and it definitely doesn’t exist in the workforce. No matter where you work or what you do, there will be days when it’s hard to get up. As long as the job leaves you happy most days, you’re somewhere worth staying.
That high school relationship might linger.
All those songs about first love hold some truth. Never again will you be as innocent and wide-eyed as you were at 17. As a result, that relationship from senior year of high school might haunt you for a little bit longer.
It’s OK to be scared.
Being scared isn’t just for little kids who are afraid of things under their beds. Adults in our lives always seemed so brave and rational when we were looking up at them from three feet off the ground. But the world is a scary place. It’s scary to think about global warming and bills and marriage and work-life balance and Ebola and The Ring. Nobody outgrows their fear of The Ring.
It’s hard and beautiful to have more than one home.
The first time you called your college dorm “home” was probably a big moment. You realized that you felt just as comfortable on campus as you did with your family in the living room. Now, you might have 3 or even 4 homes in different cities and states. It’s hard because you’re always missing someone. But it’s also incredible because you’ve found love and made real connections in so many places. Kids can’t say that.
Feature Photo via We Heart It