Turning 18 is an exciting year for obvious reasons, the newfound freedom that comes with entering adulthood, you can vote now, you can buy lottery tickets, buy a fish at PetSmart without a parent with you, you know, all of those exciting things. And then reality hits, becoming an adult is not all that exciting. Responsibilities start to arise, ugh. Bills? No thank you. And so much more about being an adult. I miss being a kid now, and wish I wasn’t so eager to grow up. Since I’ve been an adult now for three years, here is what I’ve been reflecting on for the ten reasons why I hate being an adult:
I hate that by turning eighteen you have to call to make appointments yourself. Yes, parents are still around to help, but it’s not the same. Calling the doctor to make an appointment? When I first had to do this I asked my mom “Okay so, tell me exactly what to say”. I was just beyond nervous for some reason. Making an appointment to get an oil change. Uhm, I don’t know anything about cars, and they could most definitely scam me out of my money and I wouldn’t know it. I’ve gotten a lot better about making appointments but still, it was much easier when your Mum would call for you, am I right?
If you’ve heard this, or something along the lines of it, I feel for you. Let me explain. So when I ask my dad to help me with something and his response is “You’re 18 now, you can do it”. Like uhm no, just because I turned eighteen doesn’t mean I know how to change a flat tire. Please show me, thank you. Not much is going to change over night from my last day of being seventeen to my 18th birthday.
I miss not having the stress of paying bills. This one is probably my top reason for why I hate being an adult. I do not enjoy the responsibility of working to pay my bills. I mean, nobody does. Everything is expensive. Doesn’t it feel like literally everything costs so much more these days? It’s annoying to say the least. Let’s abandon the 40 hour work week please. I do not dream to continue this until I can retire. I miss not having to budget my money, being sure to have enough to pay bills, pay for gas, groceries, and putting some away into my savings. Sure, I’m responsible. But I’m not happy about it.
When it comes to turning eighteen, you have so much on your plate. It’s senior year of high school and although you’re the oldest in the school, you’re still just babies that have to make a decision about what to do with your life. Are you applying to college? If so, what are you majoring in? Are you going to a trade school? Maybe jumping in a job first? Whatever it may be, people’s expect you to have a solid plan for this new chapter in your life and it’s a lot of pressure. But let me tell you something, I’m almost 21 and I still feel this pressure. So just relax and tune it all out, you’ve got enough time to figure everything out.
With more responsibilities means less free time. Don’t you miss the entire summer we used to have to do whatever we wanted before the next school year? Now you have to consciously make free time by trying to figure out a work-life balance. As I reminiscence on the fun memories I had with the free time I used to have so much of, I just dream for a time where I relax with no worries just like that time.
It seems that when you’re an adult you are constantly tired, no matter how many hours of sleep you get. And this is really draining. Whether I sleep for five hours or ten hours, I am still super tired. The same weight of bags are under my eyes and coffee can only help so much. I guess we can all rest when we’re old.
You know that high school drama that you were looking forward for it to go away? Sorry to break it to you, but you’ll still be dealing with that. Some people just breed drama, and it’s really, really hard to avoid. Like, can’t we all just grow up? I’m too tired to deal with who said this and who said that, I don’t care anymore. I just want my peace. Is it really a big deal that I unfollowed you on Instagram? Well excuse me, it’s my account, sorry I just didn’t want to see you post your life all day every day.
It seems that if I’m just having a quiet kind of day, it becomes this big deal, especially at work. You hear “You’re quiet today” or everyone asking you “What’s wrong, you seem down?”. I don’t know if it’s just me but when I’m around my coworkers it’s like I have to be this chipper, cartoon version of myself to get through the day, even though I really don’t feel like talking to anyone.
Some people I went to high school with are already married, whaaaat? And some even have kids already. That’s insane. So often we feel the urge to compare our lives to other people’s and it’s never a good thing to do, but it’s hard not to sometimes. We feel this pressure to be at the same place they are and it’s hard to remind ourselves that everyone is on their own journey. But there is no need for comparing.
I miss the sweet ignorance of being a child. Growing up and becoming an adult, you learn about all of the ugly in the world and it’s saddening. In many aspects life is just all around more difficult, something always needs to be done, something’s going wrong, it’s a lot to balance by ourselves.
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