Adulting adulthood

Adulting.  Did you know that adulting is not even a formal word? The one topic that everyone is always blogging about, vlogging about, tweeting about, complaining about and making memes about. I would love to be the difference that society needs but unfortunately, I am a young adult who has just succumbed to the pressure of adulthood and so here I am.

It hit me quite recently, in fact just a minute ago that I have not written in a bit. So, when some spare minutes came my way, I picked up my keyboard and started typing for the life of me. I would love to say that I have an exact play-by-play on how this will work out, but I dare not lie.

Adulting. The state of being an adult. The handling of life as an adult or a non-child.  Most of us have been or are in that stage of transitioning into adulthood. Adulting is fun, while at the same time, it sucks. Here are some things I have learnt so far about this area of life.

We are learning how to do things for ourselves without the assistance of our parents or older siblings or guardians. Since you are no longer a child, and your loved ones want to mould you into an adult who is ready to face the world, they stop holding your hand too much. Things that would previously be done for you, or you’d at least have some assistance with doing are all yours to handle. In my own healthy personal opinion, I hate it. It is still weird being in a doctor’s office and receiving injections and shots without my mom or dad around. You expect me not to cry, but I still do, because injections hurt and I want my mom.

We get to experiment on a vast number of things before settling on what you want. This goes to all of us, me included, who expect things to just fall into place. Especially to the young adults, I have no experience, but from the advice of the old wise men, experience is the best teacher. With all the pressures that exist on social media, on the internet, everyone wants to have everything figured out. Why? It is okay to try out things, if they work out, hurray, a success. If they do not, so what, you did it and now you know better. When I say experiment, I mean try out things. Seize the day and all the opportunities and chances it comes with. Try out that skill or that idea you have always wanted to do. Invest in whatever you have always wanted to invest in. Granted it all may not work out, you may lose money, you may break a leg or arm trying to break dance, you still did it which is okay.

Choices. As an adult, you are expected to make some choices for yourself. From the small day-to-day choices such as whether to eat chapatti or rice for lunch, to the big ones like whether to start your own business or to finish school. Adulting is one huge maze of choices. It all ends up being upto you. My advice is, do what feels best to you. I am a heavy believer of intuition. If something feels right to you, of course after thorough thinking and analysis, then go for it. It does not matter if everyone sees it as a wrong decision or if your parents will not approve of it. If it feels right to you, and all factors considered, it seems good for you, then do it. However, note that I have said after thorough thinking. Do not make decisions blindly. The cost may be too much at the end of the day. Make informed choices. Be rational. As my father always reminds me, choices have consequences. Whatever you do, good or bad, will always have consequences, good or bad too. Be ready to face and embrace those consequences as good naturedly as you made the choices and decisions.

It is okay to ask for help. Sometimes, as young adults, we get scared when we get stuck. You have no idea how to navigate a certain field and you hit a block. However, you do not want to ask for help because you do not want to be seen as a failure of sorts. It is okay to seek for help when stuck. Even in general. I was doing something recently and hit the biggest hurdle I have ever met. I was at my lowest low and I had no idea on what I could do. I did not want to ask my big brother for help because I was afraid I would not seem as put together as I was when I started the project. After wallowing in my own overthinking for days, I realized I had to swallow my pride. It helped and he had encountered something similar and knew how to go about it. You are not a failure for asking for help. Do not be afraid to do so.

Good days and bad days will always be there. You will never have it figured out overnight. Unless by some luck or miracle. Embrace the good days and use them as a reminder on the bad days that they too shall pass. Again, we are overwhelmed by the standards we see on social media. Ignore them and do your thing. Nobody has it totally figured out and we are all trying. So keep trying and keep going.

POETRY BLOCK!!!

A child no more

Decisions, a war

Adulthood a chore

Fun times are core

Regrets, still more

Life itself, a bore

Varied interests, a whore?

Tears, oh brother

Joy or sadness, a bother

Going for it again, steps further

Set-backs aligned, it gets harder

No manual to this, help me mother

I ought to do this, one way or another

I can navigate through this, I need a ladder

Yes I can, where is the ladder?

¬darkheartemoji 🖤

Nobody said that adulating has to be easy. Nobody said it has to be smooth. One day you have thousands and hundreds of thousands in your account, the next day you have only hundreds. One day you have it all planned and figured out, the next day you don’t. That is the beauty of life. It changes. So have fun with your friends, do all the things you love, work hard and give it your best, then carry on. We meuve regardless of adulthood not adulting.