Everyone has their own idea of what growing up means. Some think you become a grown up when you turn 18, you're a legal adult according to the United States after all. Others believe it happens when you move away from home, or when you find a real job ("real" being interpreted by the worker of course).
I have always believed that being an adult means having the responsiblity and success to support yourself. Even though I'm 24, I don't really feel like an adult. I've been living with family since I graduated from college. But then, maybe I'll never feel like an adult. And maybe that isn't a bad thing.
The older I get the more I realize that everyone follows their own path in life. And yes, I knew this before but maybe now I am really starting to understand it. Life comes down to what makes you happy, what you really want. For me, figuring out what I really want is part of the obstacle.
I keep joking with friends and family that I'll look back on this time in my life and think fondly of it. I'll be successful and happy (happiness is the real key in my book anyway). I can say, "Yes, I stumbled and fell but I figured out how to land on my feet. No, it wasn't easy." But maybe life isn't supposed to be easy.
My brother once told me that "It's easy to be happy when everything is going your way. Success feels a whole lot better when you were actually challenged and had to overcome obstacles you didn't expect." This is coming from a kid who doesn't share his opinion on my life a whole lot, but I really appreciated it.
So, yes life may be difficult but it's how you handle those obstacles that make you who you are.
It's really a gradual and subtle thing to begin feeling like an adult. When I was 21 my mother asked me if I felt like an adult. I had to be honest and say no, I really still felt like a kid. But 5 years later I was running my own company, my parents visited and I realized I was an adult. Out of nowhere! Thank you for reminding me of that.
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