What's something that's made you feel like a grown-up?
What's something that's made you feel like a grown-up?
A lot of memes I across the Internet are about how everyone, no matter how old, is just a kid inside, trying to figure out what's going on, which is something I definitely identify with.
But every once in a while, something happens that does actually make me feel like a grown-up. It's usually small, and kind of silly, but it's fun, and I thought people might want to share theirs.
For me, most recently, it was realizing I like Greek yogurt now. It was trendy when I was like 12, and I couldn't stand it then, but I bought some on a whim, and now I keep the fridge stocked. That drastic change in my tastes took me aback momentarily, but I thought it was a nice fun little milestone.
How about you?
Helping my son deal with his mental illness, drug addiction, and ultimately suicide.
I really have never felt like an adult, until my son moved in with me (I met him when he was 5 days old, and was kept from seeing him again until he moved in with me when was almost 17). Suddenly I had to deal with his medication, his appointments, keeping him out of trouble, learning to be a father of a 17 year old I did not know.
After his death the feeling stuck around for a while, but has slowly gone away over time. My last born child turned 18 earlier this year, and while that made me feel old, it did not make me feel like an adult. I even took him to register for college that, just feeling like an old kid.
The first time going to a hardware store for something I needed and being like "oooh I want that" to like half the random shit in the store like light fixtures and lawn furniture.
Being excited to see furniture is definitely an adult feeling.
Dude.......I just bought a coffee table that has liftaway tops to create a desk, AND hidden storage compartment.
Im excited about a coffee table.
For sure. As a kid, I never would have loved spending so much time at the thrift store lol
I feel like an adult almost all the time, but it got more common when I gave birth. I'm not a kid. I'm not a teenager. I'm not a college student. I'm a grown adult and everything I do all day taking care of others is adult stuff. Even the fun moments of playing a video game or looking at my phone hidden behind a book, or the hard stuff where I have no idea what to do. I don't feel like a kid, I feel like an adult playing a fun game or an adult feeling confused and scared.
To me, being a kid meant feeling confident that everything was being taken care of for me. I don't get the adults feeling like kids thing when things are confusing or hard. When I was a kid my parents dealt with the hard stuff, or at least helped me deal with it
Well said. Being an adult is knowing that the hard thing and the right thing are usually one and the same.
I'm 51 but in my head I'm the same guy I was at 21 but wiser because I have more experience and more data points, not because age matured me. That said, I can remember feeling like the only "adult in the room" as far back as 16 years old, after my only parent died.
So to answer your question, I don't think I ever feel like an adult, more like less lost than those around me and burdened to take care of them before they hurt themselves or others. This is especially true during my many work meetings.
When I turned 30, my insurance went down and I went "Woo hoo! My insurance went down!". . .
"Wait... did... did I just 'woo hoo' an insurance rate? FUCK ME!!!"
My insurance seemed to go down about as fast as inflation, so it feels like I've been paying about the same for decades. I didn't really realize how much lower my rates were until I talked to some
kidsyoung adults.Were they on your lawn?
My lower back and knees remind me that I’m a grown up.
I'm pretty sure my knees are more of an adult than I am.
Meeting the man of my dreams..... and then meeting his beautiful wife.
Ironic.
Don't you think?
Hey, it worked out for my wife!
Not so much for my first one.
At first his lips where sweet as mango, when first I held him to my chest,
But now we have this grim fandango and will four years before we rest.
--
Keep them close to where your heart used to be
Being excited about buying a nice cooler to go camping with
When I bought an actual bedframe. It wasn't the bed at my parents' house, it wasn't the bed that my college dorm owned, and it wasn't an air mattress I had been sleeping on during my internships. It was an actual bed, a real piece of adult furniture. It wasn't a small cheap metal frame. It was bulky and adult and real, and I owned it.
I was walking through the city at night smoking a (now legal) joint with a friend and talking and suddenly it occurred to me that none of what I was doing was against any rules and that society was literally built by adults and for adults.
Yeah, every once in a while it does pay off
Buying a new furnace.
That is multiple levels of adult beyond me lol
The death of parents.
Getting excited over "mundane" things. New silverware, vacuum cleaner, pan etc.
Going over bank statements. Going over stock options.
Using hot water to wash my hands instead of cold (don't even do this yet but I'll know I'll be a geezer when I do).
Not caring about others opinions about you. Just living your life.
Cooking. Specifically soup and porridge.
Checking email multiple times everyday
Making spaghetti for the first time, in my first apartment. Then realized I had made enough for four people for a week, aaaaand the feeling passed.
When I go to a medical appointment and the doctor is younger than me
The serious thing: When taxes, interest rates and mortgages were no longer abstract concepts but things I dealt with on a regular basis (I have spreadsheets!)
The funny thing: When I realized I could spend >500$ on a telescope without having to ask, wait, bargain or argue with anybody about it. I want it, I buy it.
Doing my taxes.
Getting excited about new socks and underwear, and wishing people wouldn't buy me gifts both make me feel adulty
I did a loot box thing kinda recently, and after it was over, I had the chance to purchase some of the items a la carte. The socks were one of the two things I bought a second set of lol
I like to listen to music or books while I work, and I have to drive a work vehicle a few times a day, and a big forklift to do my job. Both have a radio built in but no easy way to connect my phone to listen to my own stuff. I eventually found that I actually enjoy listening to the radio, especially the local news updates.
Once I realised that, I thought "oh god I'm turning into my dad"
I'm 30 and haven't liked the radio since I was around 10 (aka when I got my first CD played)
A 20-something year old kid swung by my desk at work to see if I could identify a plant that was growing in his yard and if I knew what to do with it. I could, and I did.
I'm 29 and mentally feel exactly like a did as a teenager. Like I've been 16 for 13 years.
17 years ahead of you, and not much changes tbh.
I recently had new rain gutters installed on my house, had my trees trimmed, had my patio paved, and bought a power bank. I'm fucking adulting damnit.
Buying a new bed with my wife. I stopped for a moment and thought "Is this who I am now? Someone who buys furniture?" Then I decided not to worry about it and started looking forward to better sleep.
When my sister graduated from high school I went to the ceremony and saw some of my teachers from five years before. They talked to me like a peer. It was subtle but I picked up on it
Lodging taxes
I recently got a Costco membership.
First, if you enjoy brown mustard, you're old.
But really, telling my kids not to do exactly what I would have done definitely makes me feel like a grown up.
Prioritizing my ToDo list over socializing or relaxing.
Not so fun, but I certainly felt like an adult when I went inpatient for suicidal ideation. A sad, broken, fucked up adult.
I didn't realize having too many pancakes could be so difficult 😔
I hope you're doing better, and have the support you need!
Cleaned up my place and now its staying that way! Nobody can barge in and out and trash the place like it used to be, constantly cleaning up after someone else who has zero respect for your space and keeping a calm,clean environment
That includes myself, in case anyone thinks I'm solely projecting lol
Can't relate
Existential crises!
Pssshhhh!!!! I've had those since I was 4, and my neighbor moved away, taking my best friend with her.
Pretty much when I bought my house it's been mostly grown-up feeling since then. Interest rates, insurance rates, and debt-service ratios are always in the back of my mind now.
Once I pay off my vehicle debt I'll be able to bankroll a better house outside of town with some land. Assuming shit doesn't go pear shaped in the next 3-4 years..
Also, playing the "should I dump my bonuses into my RRSP or pay down debt" game.. never had medium or longer term goals before.
Having to choose a medicare supplement and part d drug plan for my mother.
I'm just sad and it's nobody's responsibility but my own to cheer me up.
I think you are doing great, keep it up!
Don't really ever feel like an adult, but I do sometimes think people are being very childish. I mostly feel as though I have the ability for more freedoms and choices, but at the same time I can't actually do them. Whether it be because of time, money, both, etc.
I changed my diet to correct for my familial hypercholesterolemia...
Stupid liver enzymes not doing their job and stopping me from eating fried chicken all day every day!
When I realized the world is awful and that never got happy anymore, I'm like "yeah, I'm one of those now"