When was the first time you truly felt like an adult?
A couple of weeks ago I was in a Mediterranean restaurant with about twenty of our friends for a birthday celebration. During the evening I gazed around as people relaxed round two huge circular dining tables, pouring wine, mixing up dressing from the bottles of Spanish vinegar and oil and laughingly passing round olives and crusty bread.
It suddenly struck me that I am an ADULT. No one organised for me to be there. I wasn’t just tagging along with my parents. I was there because I was part of a group of intelligent, engaging people who liked me for who I am.
Now, this might seem a little random and I’m certainly not saying I feel immature or out of my depth. It was just one of those light bulb moments where you feel how did this happen? When did I make the transformation from gawky teenager, to shy student to happy-as-I-am adult. Weird.
I guess all of this has been going round in my head because we are making some big decisions at the moment. In the next couple of weeks we will be taking another step towards our future, and will be finding out whether the door we’re pushing is going to be opened wider or slammed in our faces.
We’ve also recently found that a couple of our close friends are having a baby. They are the first in our close friendship group and it just makes you realise that we are getting to the age where loads of our friends seem to getting married and having babies.
I wonder if people look at Josh and I and think we have it all together? I’ve already made the link between ‘growing up’ and ‘getting married’ – and we’ve been married for over two years. While, I’m not saying I feel immature (in fact Josh and I have had to deal with lots of situations that you could say are beyond our years), I’m not saying I feel like I have it all together either…
I’ve got a feeling that becoming an adult is one of those mythical statuses that you aim to achieve as a child. Like turning 16 or 18…when you actually get there it doesn’t feel any different.
So…a question for you. When was the first time that you felt like a real adult?
Dreaming of the Country 
Yey, a post! I don’t think I’ve hit that point yet. However, it’s becoming an ever nearing prospect. I already have a pension set up, I’m being really attentive about my finances and I’m worrying about the future all the time.
There are those odd moments when I feel grown up but then there are an equal amount of moments when I feel like a child.
I can’t answer that question because I’m not there yet. HOWEVER, it sounds like some exciting things are happening in your life! I hope everything works out the way it’s meant to be. : )
Yes, right now it’s being the first time I feel like a real adult: buying a house, paying a mortgage…
It’s hard, but I like it. 🙂
I’m 28, married, I have a 1 year old, and a masters dregree, and I STILL don’t feel like an adult.