This week I hit a pretty big milestone, I turned 18. For the first time in my life I can buy a lottery ticket, open my own bank account, get a tattoo or piercing, or rent a hotel room without having a parent sign for it. For the first time in my life I am expected to be an adult.
I’m still a kid, even if I am 18. I’m not 21 and free. I can’t rent a car or a house at the beach. There are still things I can’t do even as an “adult.” Even if I can’t do some things, people are still going to expect me to be an adult. That’s a reasonable request, but still a few months ago I was in high school and had to ask real “adults” if I could use the bathroom.
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The concept of growing up and becoming an adult in such a short time period is still fresh in my mind, and I have a few opinions about it. In my opinion, there are some people who are ready to be adults at 18 and some people who aren’t ready to be adults even when they are 45. There is a level of maturity for someone who claims to be an adult and some people just don’t have it.
This topic is a little controversial, but I’m 18 now and I still don’t consider myself an adult. Not because I can’t buy alcohol, rent a car, or any other reason; it’s simply because I don’t feel like I am ready to be an adult. An adult to me, sets a standard and makes sure people live up to it. Adults show up to work on time and don’t make excuses why they are late. I’m just not there yet, and you shouldn’t have to be the moment you turn 18.
There is no manual to living on your own (if there is can someone send me a copy?). I’ve been doing it for almost two weeks now. I can tell you I am no more grown up than I was when my mom moved me into this dorm. So, I’m living on my own, I’m 18, I’m in college and I still don’t feel like an adult. What have I done wrong? The reality is, I haven’t done anything wrong at all. I’m not to the point in my life where I feel like I should be considered an adult.
I may be more mature than some of my friends, I may be older than some, and I may be a little more put together than most, but in my mind I’m still just a kid. I’m still going to make excuses on why I’m late and it won’t be a real adult problem like “my kid has the flu" or “I dropped my favorite makeup palette this morning and I had to have a funeral for it,” because again I’m just a kid.
My mom always told me “You aren’t ready to live on your own Emilee, you aren’t ready to be 18,” and I never believed her until I realized I really wasn’t. From the moment I stepped on this campus, I have felt older, more mature, but not once have I felt like an adult. I feel like a broke college kid just getting by and making memories to last a lifetime. You don’t have to grow up and start making adult decisions the moment you turn 18, and you shouldn’t be expected to. Just live your life and be happy, make dumb decisions, get a tattoo spontaneously with your best friend, and make memories to last forever.
