The Moment You Become an Adult

Sometimes it’s hard to define specific moments in your life. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly when you’ve gone through a shift or period of growth as you never know notice the change until it’s always happened. One minute you’re operating on your normal frequency, and the next, you’re spouting phrases that your mother makes.

The first time I sounded like my mother, I stopped in my tracks.  Where did that come from?!  Who said that?!  It certainly couldn’t have been me!  I remember I was on the phone with a friend, while cleaning my apartment, and one of my mother’s idioms just slipped out.  I stood there in complete shock.  I even stopped the conversation to note what had just happened.  That was the one of the first moments I realized I was growing up. And scarily, I had inherited the same speaking style of my mother. This past weekend, I had another.

Fourth of July weekend is always a fantastic time filled with family and friends.  I grew up down the shore so I’ve always gone to other individual’s events. This year, I hosted my own barbeque.  It wasn’t something I originally planned on but my neighbors and I decided it would be fun to have a building barbeque.  For the first time since I moved years ago (yes, years), I had family coming up from the beach.  For those of you who don’t know, you can’t get anyone who lives by a beach inland on a holiday weekend.  I didn’t think much of it until someone mentioned that I was “hosting” or “entertaining.”  When they found out friends were bringing their children, I was told I was officially adulting. It made me think…what exactly makes you an adult?  When do you actually become one?

 

Seriously…who allowed this?

 

By law, the moment you turn 18, you are legally an adult.  Yet, we oddly don’t let 18 year olds legally drink.  You can at 21, but that found freedom has a tendency to be overdone the first few years. I’m not even sure you can be clarified as an adult while in college…at least, not from my own experience.  You are still learning so much during that time.  You’re still learning about yourself and will continue to do so.  You’re still trying to understand the world, yet your still the focus of your own world.  I don’t know many young 20 years old who were focused on others.

Is it that moment when you get ridiculously excited to buy a vacuum? If you haven’t experienced this yet…I promise you, you will. Is it buying your first car on your own? Getting your own pet?  Moving out on your own?  Marriage?  Kids? Someone let me know!

Trust me…It will feel like this!

 

I’m not sure I feel like an adult yet, even though I’ve been told I’m adulting. I don’t know if I ever will feel like one.  Does anyone out there feel like an adult?  If so, do you know when it happened?  Can you pinpoint a specific moment in time? What does it mean to be one?