As children, we yearn for the day that we are finally grown-ups. As teens, we fantasize about living in a big city, in a cozy apartment with our best friends. As time runs its course, we inevitably turn into adults but that glittering vision of how our lives will be is abruptly changed by the slap in the face we call reality.
What was once a picture-perfect plan full of newfound independence and freedom to do whatever we please is now diluted by responsibility after responsibility. The naivety of our youth blinded us from the lease and rent payments that accompany the apartment, which is far too expensive for the minuscule living area. We failed to recognize the dangers that coincide with the city life. We did not consider the messiness of our best friend, whose clothes are now strewn all over our apartment.
Measly chores we once completed as a child turn into full-fledged cleaning, full of dishes, laundry, and repairs that never seem to end. As we grow up, we learn to accomplish tasks that our parents previously took care of. Arguing with cable companies, installing WiFi, and going grocery shopping are just a few of the new tasks we must add to our lengthy to-do lists.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle that we overlooked was that of budgeting. Shows such as "Sex and the City" and "Friends" fail to accurately portray the financial struggle that comes with the city dream. For the established and employed, paying bills and living a glamorous lifestyle is somewhat more manageable, but college students do not have it so easy. Between textbooks, rent, food, and a decent social life, choosing where your precious dollars are going to go becomes the forefront of your decision-making.
Maybe we made the mistake of setting the bar too high. Perhaps we were too concerned with modeling our own lives after a television show. But at the end of each day, we have already achieved the original goal. The struggles we face along the way and how we handle them define the type of person we are becoming. Even though adulthood is not always all that it is cracked up to be, there is so much beauty to be found in the successes we have already made. Rather than wishing away our youth or allowing ourselves to become consumed with the stress that accompanies growing up, let us revel in the fact that we are the youngest we will ever be again, and the oldest we have been so far.
