I’m pretty sure this is a question we have all asked ourselves at some point. At what stage do I officially become an adult? There may be no definitive answer, but there are certainly some tell-tale signs to keep an eye out for.
Getting excited about new things for the house:
You know you’re on a downwards spiral into adulthood when you begin to get excited about buying new things for the home. You may try and convince yourself that getting excited about new tea towels is fine as you’ve picked the cute Hogwarts ones from Primark, but in reality you’re just a small step away from Instagramming your new shiny saucepans.
Bed > Social Life:
Long gone are those Fresher days where you be out drinking till around 5 am and still manage to rock up to your 9am lecture (albeit smelling slightly). Slowly but surely you may notice that you’re turning down more and more social invites and instead chose to spend your evenings with the love of your life, your bed. There’s nothing wrong with this. Embrace it become the Duvet King or Queen!
You’re a Monica:
Growing up you always assumed you were destined to become a Rachel. She was cool, she was stylish and she could rock a pair of over the knee boots. In reality however you may notice that you’ve instead become a Monica.
So you like things to be tidy? That’s responsible! So the thought of people scratching your new dinner service gives you heart palpitations? So what, you want your things to stay nice! So you find any excuse to carry your label maker around? Who doesn’t love being organised? Right? …..
Left Out:
You’re getting to that stage where every time you open Facebook somebody else from school has announced they’re pregnant or getting married. Of course you’re super excited for person in question but deep down you’re thinking how you’re nowhere near ready for that level of adulthood, and yet there’s still a small niggling feeling in the back of your chest. A feeling which makes you feel as though you’re being left behind or as if you’re somehow missing out. It’s only normal to feel this way, and it takes a lot of time and maturity to find happiness within your own life.
I feel you King Triton:
So you’re feeling pretty tired from all this adulting and you want to feel youthful again for just a few hours. You dig out your favourite Disney film and settle down for an afternoon of pure joy. You realise that you of course still love your favourite films and characters, but you seem to have grown a new perspective. Instead of siding with the (often teenage) hero or heroine you’re finding yourself actually siding with their parents!
For example:
Ariel: “I’m 16 years old. I’m not a child anymore.”
You: “Oh shut up Ariel! You’re 16 what do you know?!”.
That first moment when you realise you’ve become an adult is never a fun one. Perhaps you’ve found your first grey hair or perhaps you realise you can’t remember the last time you were IDed. Instead of wallowing and trying to grasp onto any remaining hints of youth why not just embrace your new maturity? Just think how cringey you probably were when you’re 14 and how far you’ve come since. Other than that you can refuse to acknowledge birthdays. Why not just stay twenteen forever? We won’t judge.
