Rachel Tries Adulting

If you don’t know what adulting is, then you’re probably already doing it.

According to the resource in all things “hip” (aka Urban Dictionary), adulting (v.) is “to do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown-ups.”

There’s no surprise here: I’m actually going to try adulting. I will record my progress with visual and written commentary. Feel free to follow along, join the journey, judge for yourself, and follow along like any other inspirational quote or cliché you might find on the internet (because adults like those, right?).

First things first, I got a job!

Congrats to me, I got a job, the most adult-related thing in the world. 9/10 people have reported that it is hard to find a job, and 1/10 (my mom) tells me that “the right one will come along when it needs to.” Although she may have been talking about my crush.

Work is better when you enjoy it, and I’m lucky to enjoy mine. What I don’t enjoy is waking up at 5:30 a.m., driving to work in the freezing, dark morning, and driving home in the (still) freezing, dark evening.

I kept something alive

WOOHOO KAZOOIE LIVES



BUT, my leopard gecko hates me
I’m not sure how this happened. I feed him live worms and he still doesn’t like me. Maybe it’s because I haven’t put in the time to acclimate him to humans. Or maybe he’s just a jerk. Or maybe I’m a jerk. Whatever the reason, part of being an adult is accepting that not everyone will like you. Or something like that. (Love me, Kazooie! Love meeeeeeeeee!)

Turned 21

This took minimal effort on my part so I don’t think it’s worth much, but some of the world thinks it’s a big deal so, yay me.

Renewed my license

Image courtesy of http://i.imgur.com/EgTEo2s.gif

This was probably one of the hardest things to do, because in true university-student fashion, I procrastinate on everything. Got it done though. Eventually.

Booked an appointment myself

Image courtesy of http://i.imgur.com/J3ou8fO.gif

Why is speaking on the phone scarier than speaking to someone in real life? Just like how everyone loves pizza, there seems to be no logical solution as to why it’s true other than: it just is.

I didn’t renew my passport (and still haven’t)

Image courtesy of http://i.imgur.com/5AwL3X3.gif

They even have those 10-year passports to make my life easier but I still can’t muster up the time or energy to renew it. I’ll probably wait until I book a flight out of the country and am forced to renew it, wherein I will suffer from extreme stress hoping that it gets to me in time. So, although I didn’t actually do the “adult” thing and get my passport renewed, I am doing the “adult” thing which is recognizing that at some point, my actions will cause me stress – and I’m accepting that it will be my own fault. So, that’s sort of mature, right? At least I’m not going to blame others for my own in action. So… win?

In the end, I would say that I’ve done well except I really have nothing to compare myself to. Maybe that’s the point of adulthood? Deciding your own way to sort out your life?

What people like to call “adulting” is really just doing the most boring, basic, routine tasks that everyone will probably have to do someday. But I’m not against the internet congratulating people on doing everyday tasks, because if I’m going to stand in line for two hours just to renew my driver’s license then I’m pretty sure I deserve some sort of reward. Turns out being recognized as someone who has completed their casual yet painful errands is respectable (and achievable), and for that, I am thankful.

Rachel - YouAlberta Contributor

Rachel is always up for a good adventure, as long as it doesn’t involve spiders. When not snuggled in a corner connected to headphones and attached to a good book, she’s spending her last year at the U of A tracking down as many quirky people and events as this campus can offer. She would willingly and gladly roll down more hills — and believes this is a valid pastime — if not for her allergy to grass.