Adult’s Play: The Upsides of Growing Up
Introduction
During the end of my senior year of college, everyone decided to give me extremely unsolicited advice about what was to come post-graduation.
“Adulting sucks.”
“I wish I could go back to college.”
“I’m only working for the weekends.”
“SERIOUSLY. Working and being an adult sucks. Don’t do it.”
“Take time off before you start working. You’ll have no free time once you start.”
These were all incredibly depressing statements that were constantly thrown my way during my last few weeks of college. Also, what do you mean by, “Being an adult sucks. Don’t do it”? As if I have an option? It’s safe to say that I was thoroughly FREAKED OUT!
First, what the f*ck guys? Thank you for planting these negative seeds of doubt in my mind during a time when I am already questioning everything. Don’t even get me started on the ocean of self-doubt that a young person goes through during their senior year of college. Do I get a job? Do I blow my savings and travel the world? Do I move back into my childhood bedroom? It’s already a volatile time of trying to figure out what to do when there’s no “Continue to Next Page” button, and now you’re telling me that it’s all terrible anyway? That I don’t even have a shot at having a fun life after I throw my cap and gown?
Second, I am an incredibly, sometimes annoyingly, optimistic person. I will never let rain ruin my sunshine. I will never let anyone dull my sparkle. I will never let *insert another cliché about being positive here*. So, despite all the horrible advice I was receiving from my older peers, I was determined to not let anyone, or anything make “adulting” a bad experience. I mean, how bad could it be? Everyone in the world eventually does it. I made it my personal mission to make “adulting” as positive an experience as possible. Even with all the negative chatter that my graduated peers and relatives were throwing my way, I knew I could find a way to build a life that I enjoyed. I felt like my future was a Whack-a-Mole game. Every time I popped up, someone would smash down with a foam hammer that read, “You’ll never have fun again!” “You’ll have no free time!” “You’ll hate your job!” Just like the moles, I was going to pop back into my little underground maze and continue coming back up for air while avoiding all the hammers trying to smash me and my little mole dreams.
I did take some of the advice that I received about “adulting”: “Take time off before you start working.” To be honest, this isn’t bad advice. It’s great. There’s no handbook that says you must start working full time the second you graduate. You can take time off to try different jobs, different paths, different dreams. This advice eventually led me to “living my best life.” Yes, it’s even better than my college years. You read that correctly. Better than college. You’re telling me...you are having more fun...as a working adult...than you did...IN COLLEGE? Impossible. What I’m about to explain to you throughout the next 200ish pages is how to live your best life, not just for one era, but all the time. Being an adult doesn’t suck. “That’s child’s play” shouldn’t be an insult. We need to make it a lifestyle. Let’s make “adult’s play” the new standard of living. Because who decided that being an adult should suck?