Adulting is hard, but it doesn’t always have to be.
Since becoming an adult, I have found myself constantly stressing over what feels like everything in life. I stress over my finances, my relationships, grad school, and so much more. But recently, I’ve taken a step back and put my life under a microscope. I asked myself: when did I stop letting myself have fun? In the past, I have often found myself wishing I was a kid still. I wished I didn’t have to worry about finances or school, and focus on the little things in life. When I was little, focusing on having fun was my only worry. Though it might not be completely realistic to act like a kid all the time, maybe it is valid to take time to act like one on occasion.
The last two days, I’ve taken the time to be a little immature, and the results have been extraordinary. I have had the most stressful few weeks of my life, and I found that by taking even the smallest amount of time to be immature and have some fun can make the most chaotic day less stressful. For instance, on Tuesday I had an 8 am class, three big assignments due, an exam, and a meeting. I had more worries on my plate than necessary, but I took an hour out of my day to do something stupid. I decided to hang out with my roommates for a little bit, which resulted in a game of leap-frog and a water fight at a frat house. In that moment of simplicity and fun, all my worries left my mind and I was able to relax. From that moment on, rather than feeling stressed about my responsibilities for the rest of the day, I felt at ease. It seemed that by not taking life so seriously for at least a small amount of time, I was able to change my entire perspective of the day. I actually ended up getting more work done than I thought I would.
On Wednesday, I also had a very chaotic day, but I ended it early to do hoodrat stuff with my friends. We went to a friend’s house and danced around and acted like children for a few hours. At one point we even ended up at a playground in the middle of the night. Overall, it felt good to take life less seriously for a moment.
Emerging into adulthood is an amazing experience, but with all the pros also comes the cons. Because of this, I have found that it is vital to not always take life too seriously and to bring out the child in oneself. When life gets too serious, it is okay to act like a kid sometimes.