When I decided to finish going to school online I was excited because it meant I would have more freedom to do some of the things I need to do and to save money for things that I want to do. It also meant that I was a few steps closer to feeling like a real adult. While I was at school I felt stuck because I didn’t have a car and I didn’t have a job which meant no money – well no money that was my own. Living on campus also reminded me that I still wasn’t in the career I wanted to be in and that I lived in a dorm instead of my own fabulously decorated home. Coming home meant I could work, have money of my own, save for a car and eventually move out.
I came home in May and expected that I would immediately find a job and be able to get a car by the end of July or beginning of August. I didn’t get a job until September. Although I’m grateful to my church family for allowing me to work at the church, my initial belief before coming home was that I would get a nice, big girl job in an office working in business. But I’m happy to work with my kids because they’re amazing. I also finally did get a car and every day I could scream because I FINALLY HAVE MY OWN CAR!!!
But to add to the adulting struggles I face is my failure at being financially responsible because I love to shop. I’m learning that part of being a responsible adult is saying “no” to things that I really don’t need, with some help of an older adult, of course (mom).
All this to say that I long for the simple days when I was on Regent’s beautiful campus with my friends complaining about procrastinating too much and wanting to go to Cookout, walking around the campus, going to fun events and attending Unchapel. The spontaneous trips to the beach and feeling a little bit like adults because we could pretty much do as we pleased, but still feeling like kids because we were young, in school and lived in dorms.
Even though I’m wishing I was back at Regent because the struggle gets real at times, I’m happy to be moving toward the goals and dreams that will make me the successful adult that I desire to be. Next year my biggest goal is to move out of my family’s house, so I can have my nicely decorated apartment that I desire – along with a few other goals that I plan to accomplish next year. So, I guess I will continue struggling on, but someday soon I will return to Regent and reminisce the good ole days when adulting wasn’t a real struggle and my only worries were: homework, what to wear to Unchapel, and whether I should call my mom to ask for money so that I could go to Starbucks and Cookout with my roommates.