Recently Reddit user @Competitive-Cry1989 posted in AskWomen and asked:
“When did it sink that you are really and truly an adult?”
The thousands of responses ranged from humorous and heartwarming to downright serious. Now go reheat your cup of black decaf coffee before you read 20 of the most relatable responses, you old person, you.
1. BILLS, BILLS, BILLS
“Every time I pay bills 😔”
2. Finding a great bargain
“When I realized few things excite me in life more than finding excellent bargains on groceries.”
– cobraCL
“Excitement from boring household items going on sale (ie:toilet paper, cleaning products, etc)”
3. Going to therapy
“The 2 days I spent calling every therapist in town that would take my insurance, trying to find one taking new patients. I went referral by referral, asking at each office that didn’t have anyone available. Finally found one, and she ended up being perfect.”
“When I realized (through a lot of therapy), that life isn’t a series of events that happen to you. You get to make choices to have the life you want.”
4. Learning the hard way
“When I realized that just because I could put something down the garbage disposal, doesn’t mean I should put it down the garbage disposal.”
“I have to stretch in the mornings.”
“When I was legitimately scared that I was doing to die on a carnival ride.”
5. Buying cake just because you can
“I was doing my grocery shopping and I realized I could just… buy a whole cake. And nobody could stop me or require a reason.
It was double chocolate and it was delicious.”
6. Moments of isolation
“The moment that comes to mind was last year on Christmas Eve. I took a temp job almost an hour away that was only a few days and it was holiday pay. My parents are in a different state and i decided not visit last year. No mom. No Christmas dinner. I drove home in the dark after a 12 hour shift and got home before my roommates. The only Christmas treat I had was a bag of candied pecans a woman I didnt know had passed out at work so I ate them alone in the dark with the cats and I was thinking if my life was a movie this scene would be a low point.”
“A year ago while i was biking home in the rain at 1am from work because i had recently lost my car.”
7. When someone comes to you for help
“The day my younger cousins showed up at my door after one of them was kicked out of the house by his abusive asshole of a father. I asked them what they were planning to do, he said he needed an adult so he came to me… I was terrified and that’s when I realized that every adult suffers from imposter syndrome.”
– Nyx_is
“When I was on holiday with my family and during a time of crisis my parents asked me what we should do.”
“I was a chaperone on a school trip right out of college and this kid got a bee tangled in her hair bun and they all came to me for help and I was like ah shit, I’m the adult here and I don’t know what the f*** to do.”
11. Death of a loved one
“When my first parent became terminally ill and died. My siblings and I became responsible for taking care of things overnight.”
“Was driving to my grandpas funeral with my husband, big brother and daughter in the car. We adults were joking around about how it’s like we’re playing adults, when I look at my daughters face and she looked horrified. She catches my eyes and says “if you’re not the adults, who is?” And I went oh f***, we’re not playing adults. We are the adults.”
– ehnej
12. BABIES
“When I had my son. I was a big partier and didn’t expect to have children so I enjoyed my singleness. BC failed and soon had a baby to care for. That was a big change and it was hard being an adult when all my friends where out partying.”
“When I hit that age where childbearing goes downhill if you wait any longer. I always felt like I wasn’t old or adult enough to have kids now it’s about to be too late”
13. D-I-V-O-R-C-E
“Getting divorced!”
14. Those moments when a Life Alert could have come in handy
“I slipped on a magazine and it felt like a life alert commercial. It wasn’t a bad fall but like damn, when did little trips get so dramatic.”
15. Getting a say in where you live
“When we bought our first house. Like, taking a good look at your credit, finances, having to do inspections, insurance, etc…. I remember thinking halfway in I’m not mature enough for all of this.”
16. Appreciating the lamest things
“Got excited about new furniture.”
“When I bought a Costco membership.”
“I started to get excited about Tupperware and being gifted socks, and less worried telling my family about underage drinking escapades.”
17. Figuring it out on your own
“My parents wouldn’t cosign on a vehicle I was purchasing. I was like “Whelp, gotta figure out how to do this on my own.” It sucked, but I did it. That’s when I felt like an adult.”
“Getting bed bugs and struggling with unemployment after moving into my first post-college apartment.”
18. When your kids are going through major life changes
“When my daughter started getting college solicitations a couple months ago. I’ve been so busy just going and going all of these years, it’s just now really hit.”
18. Taking care of your parents
“When I had to walk my Mom into a memory care unit.”
19. When people start speaking to you differently
“When a mother turned to her daughter in a shopping centre and said “be careful of the lady.”
“When random older men stopped hitting on me at work.”
– pgellie
20. When your priorities change
“Everytime I find myself preferring a cozy night at home over a cool night out.”
– HalaDoma
