Time To Adult

Apartment hunting. Bills. Laundry. Full-time jobs. The list could go on and on. Being an adult is not all it was made out to be. Whoever told me it was going to be amazing needs to apologize. Because I was not expecting this.

Yet as I finish my coursework for my second degree (a subtle flex) I can’t help but get excited for the future.

Am I looking forward to the thought of not having a summer vacation anymore? No. No I’m not. I’m actually so sad about that.

But I am looking forward to what life has in store. And more than that, where life will take me.

So in preparation for that, here are my three tips of advice I’ve learned in my short time “adulting”. Or as my parents like to say, “an adult in training”

First, write it down.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten things until the las minute because it wasn’t written down somewhere or in my calendar. As we go through life and pick up more responsibilities, we have less time. Which isn’t a bad thing. But it’s impossible to remember everything we have to do without reminders.

I write down everything. From things I need to get at the grocery store, birthdays, quotes that I like, it really doesn’t matter. I just know that if it’s not on paper or in my phone, it’s liable to not get done.

Next. Don’t always say yes.

This sounds contradictory to what some people would say about being in your 20s and young. And that’s because it is. Whoever told you to say yes to every opportunity clearly didn’t have many coming their way. And if you’re reading this, I know you are getting to the bag and will have opportunities like no other. And because of that, you can be selective. It’s ok to say no to something you are iffy about. There’s no shame in that.

I have friends that say yes to everything and I watch them stress themselves out and almost breakdown because it’s too much. Then they have to drop commitments for their own mental health. But if they had been a little more picky on what they said yes to, it wouldn’t be this way.

Now I am in no means saying don’t take chances. Please do that. But listen to your body. And really listen to your gut. They won’t lead you wrong.

And lastly, learn from everything.

The whole point of life is to evolve and learn as we go. So take the wins and losses that come your way as just that. Wins and losses. You take the highs out of the highs and the lows out of the lows. And what you’ll find is a beautiful space in the middle where you reside and flourish. (That was real poetic. I’m impressed it came out of my mouth!).

So as we begin this adulting journey, let’s all buckle up for the ride. Write things down, be selective what you give your energy to, and continue to evolve.

Let’s take over the world y’all.