As the end of another year looms in the air, finals are right around the corner. Realizing another year of your life has gone by may initiate a slight quarter-life crisis, but no need to panic. We’re all starting to grow up, and it’s okay! We should embrace the inner old ladies we’re all slowly becoming.
1. Enjoying a Night In
Three-day benders in Dinkytown were the norm for weekends during freshman year. Sophomore year, you’d still go hard a few days, but homework and work were on your mind. Once you become an upperclassman, however, you realize sometimes the best weekends are ones spent watching Netflix marathons with a few friends or your dog.
2. Paying Bills
Balancing rent, credit card payments, tuition installments, and a grocery bill isn’t the easiest thing. Work isn’t a choice anymore, and that’s fine. Plus, your new Tidal subscription to listen to Beyoncé’s Lemonade ain’t free either. It costs money to hear her brilliance and perfection, but it’s hella worth it!
3. Receiving Gifts
Gifts like kitchen necessities, socks or a printer are now some of the best presents to get. We used to only want Minnesota Wild tickets, an acoustic guitar or a glorious pair of Gopheralls. Now, the more useful it is – the better! Why would we want to pay for the things we need if other people offer to get them for us?
4. Grocery Shopping
Going to get groceries used to be scary af, but now going by yourself is an enjoyable little adventure. Choosing your individual menu is fun, and shopping on a budget is a personal version of The Price is Right. Besides, just because you’re older doesn’t mean you can’t ride the cart back to your car. There’s no one to tell you not to. Yay adulting!
5. Healthy Eating
While we all would love to only gorge ourselves with Chipotle and Twix bars, we’re all starting to plan our meals and think about what we’re putting into our bodies. Making healthy choices makes our bodies hurt less and will (hopefully) help us health-wise in the future. Ordering salads is now something to look forward to rather than a chore, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.
6. Learning to Say “No”
Saying “no” as an almost-adult means putting yourself and your health first. While growing up, saying “no” was either a sign of insubordinate action or fear of missing out on activities. Now, it has less rebellious and FOMO reasoning. It can mean anything from not wanting to waste your time and energy on a side project, to giving yourself a rest day from work. It can be hard to do, but it’s good to say “yes” to saying “no” sometimes.
7. Enjoying Work
Having a job can actually be enjoyable. It’s a nice break from your other school and life responsibilities. For a few hours, you get paid to simply roll burritos, write memos, make lattés or put away books. If you know how to kill time correctly, work can be a blessing. It’s an “acceptable” way to procrastinate and daydream!
8. Saving Money
While our busy adult schedules still require copious amounts of caffeine from Starbucks and Caribou, we’re starting to spend our money more wisely. We splurge less on cute shoes, going out to eat or upgrading to the latest iPhone. That saved money will help with loans and debts later on in life. Plus, in the long run, saving your hard-earned paper means you can drop a few hundred dollars on tickets to see Queen Béy and not feel like crying for days.
Somehow, time has flown before our eyes and we’re all becoming adults. While this is relatively scary, it’s just the next chapter in life. Feel free to still color at restaurants and order off the kid’s menu, though. We don’t want to grow up that quickly!