My sister and I ask each other the same question at least three times a day: “How does one adult?” Everyone gets to a point in life – for me it was when I moved away to college – when they ask themselves, “How the hell am I going to do this?” When I moved to college, it was the first time I had ever lived away from home. In fact, it was the first time I would be away from home for more than a span of two weeks (thank you March of the Living for allowing me to leave home for that time period). When you look at the picture as a whole, it seems nearly impossible and almost terrifying to face. College was horrifying to me. Questions that suffocated my mind included, “How am I going to work and go to school?” “How am I going to motivate myself to study?” “How do I do laundry?” Little did I know that later on those would be the easiest questions to answer out of all of the challenges I have faced so far. However, when you take college one day at a time, it doesn’t seem so scary. Before you know it, a year or two has passed by and you still ask yourself, “How am I going to do this?” Then you realize, “Wait, I am doing this! I had a successful year (2, 3 or 4 years) on my own!” I gave college a nickname: “The Fake Adulthood.” College is that safe space where you are becoming independent without the full responsibility of being on your own. A college student has the opportunity to establish their own life with the comfort of their parents still willing to catch them if they fall apart, and trust me I have had some of those moments.
I ask myself all the time how I am going to face situations and milestones in my life and somehow I manage to get past it. Do NOT let me fool you, I don’t always solve those problems with grace. Although, I learn lessons and take notes so I know how to handle similar situations the next time. Adulting, like everything else, takes practice. That is truly why I feel college exists sometimes, to give us that practice before we jump right into the big and scary grown-up world. Which is why I do not understand why people want to rush through college. There is a growth within yourself that occurs each year you are at whatever college or university you attend. You can rush your grades and fill your schedule with five or six classes at a time, but you cannot rush the rate in which you mature. My best advice as only a sophomore in college is to take your time. If you think about it the average life expectancy in the United States is now 78. Most young people in college who are learning how to adult are aged 18-23. That is plenty of time to live as an actual adult. Do not rush college, take your time and live your young life while you can before real responsibilities arise.
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I don’t think anyone has a definitive answer to the question, “How does one adult?” Other than, you just do it. If you have a better answer than that please let me know, I need all of the advice I can get. Enjoy the practice round of adulting everyone calls college, Collegiates. I promise the wait will be worth it.