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?
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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.
I just…I want to hug you.
His birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, his death 6 weeks later (11 years this year). This is the hardest time of the year. Some days I could really use a hug.
Sending you a hug
Sending all the love an internet comment can muster friend
When I go to a medical appointment and the doctor is younger than me
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.
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
I recently got a Costco membership.
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
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.
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.
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’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!
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.
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
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 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 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)
