Adulting

Everyone loves to reminisce about how college was a great time. And it was! That is because the whole place exists to turn you into someone that can benefit the world. I remember feeling that and feeling so lucky, but I also remember feeling so uncomfortable. Like it wasn’t the real world because… it wasn’t the real world.

I think the main reason I felt uncomfortable is the idea that we were adults now, on our own. But our entire lives were still fabricated by other adults that taught us, set up infrastructure to take care of us, etc. People even keep telling you how much of an adult you are, but when you look around, almost no one is depending on you — just you.

That really isn’t being an adult. Being an adult is being strong enough to take care of others and actually doing it. I mean, we live in a society. The power of society is the network. When I was in college, I was incapable of taking care of others since I was learning to take care of myself. I couldn’t be a meaningful participant in the network yet.

Maybe that is why we have the term young adult. Someone who is learning how to take care of themselves but is wholly incapable of taking care of others, and completely unaware that that is the gig they are training for.

Btw, this is not just taking care of kids. We all have parents, friends, coworkers, and even interactions with strangers. All of those groups will need you at some point. Be ready when they do.