Adulthood Is a Myth
We’re all just making it up as we go along
Picture this: You’re five, maybe six.
The world is full of wonder, of magic. You can’t wait to grow up. Being an adult sounds so exciting, so glamorous. This is a sentiment most of us can relate to, especially when the big “A” looms around the corner.
No, not the “Scarlet Letter” — Adulthood.
Be honest, do you really feel like a grown-up? Or are you, like me, just a child trapped in an adult’s body, looking around and thinking, “Who on earth trusted me with all these responsibilities?”
Welcome to the “Adulthood is a Myth” club, where the only entry requirement is a nagging suspicion that you have no idea what you’re doing.
The Myth of Adulthood
So, you have the house, the job, maybe even the spouse and 2.5 kids (or fur babies).
You’ve ticked all the boxes of the traditional adulthood checklist. And yet, you still feel like a kid playing dress-up in your parent’s oversized clothes. Well, don’t sweat it, because the truth is that nobody has it figured out.
Remember the cool kids in high school who seemed to have all the answers?
Turns out, they didn’t. Life is a lot like the never-ending dungeon of tunnels in the 80s movie Labyrinth — full of twists, turns, and (oddly) singing goblins.
In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” And part of looking around is acknowledging that adulthood is an ongoing process.
We’re constantly learning, growing, and making things up on the fly.
There is no invisible demarcation line between youth and adulthood that you step over one day and, suddenly, you know how to open a checking account, enjoy puzzles, and — gasp — pay your taxes.
The Great Pretenders
So, why does everyone else seem to have their act together?
Simple — because they’re all great pretenders. That’s right. Just like the famous Queen song of the 80s, we’re all “Just pretending, right up to the end.”
Take, for example, the not-so-millennial action of filing your taxes. When was the last time you filled out those forms without frantically googling what a 1099 form is, or how on earth to calculate a tax deduction?
Tax season is just a nationwide, adult version of the floor-is-lava game where we’re all pretending we understand the rules while desperately trying to avoid penalties.
Adulting is Overrated
Adulthood is often portrayed as this exciting phase where you’re free to do anything you want — eat ice cream for breakfast, stay up all night watching Netflix, or buy that outrageously priced designer bag you’ve been eyeing.
But the reality?
More like being stuck in a never-ending game of Tetris, where bills, responsibilities, and life’s unexpected curveballs drop faster and faster.
Remember the 80s game show Double Dare?
Adulthood feels a lot like going through the final obstacle course — messy, chaotic, and no real sense of direction. But hey, you might win a cool prize at the end, like inner peace or a decent credit score.
Embrace the Journey
To paraphrase a common (and often misattributed) quote, “It’s not the years of adulthood that count, but the mileage.” So, here’s to embracing the journey and giving yourself permission to take things one day at a time.
There is no rulebook to life, so make up your own rules.
Here’s the truth: Adulthood doesn’t come with a manual. There’s no secret recipe, no magical age when you’ll wake up one day and feel like you’ve got it all figured out.
It’s a journey of ups and downs, curveballs, and surprises.
Lessons from the Tube
Let’s consider a beloved sitcom from the 90s: Friends.
On the surface, it was a show about six pals navigating their way through life in the Big Apple. But dig a little deeper and you’ll realize it was a poignant illustration of how we’re all just trying to get by.
Remember when Ross tried to pivot that oversized couch into his apartment? Growing up is a lot like that. We’re all just trying to pivot our way around obstacles.
And it’s okay to feel like you’re stuck in second gear — because (as the theme song goes) “Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, and your love life’s DOA.”
But you know what? We’re all in this together.
Embracing the Beautiful Chaos
If we’re all just making it up as we go along, what’s the trick to surviving adulthood? Well, it’s accepting that life is beautifully chaotic.
It’s about learning to juggle the balls of life, knowing that sometimes you might drop one, and that’s okay. In the classic game Pac-Man, you might run into ghosts (read: problems) along the way.
But you also have the power to overcome them.
Embrace the chaos, love the mess, and don’t forget to laugh along the way. Keep your inner child alive, because, after all, as George Bernard Shaw said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
Let’s Toast to “Adulting”
Let’s be real: Adulthood is building IKEA furniture without the manual. There will be moments of frustration, confusion, and even a few swear words.
But there will also be triumph, accomplishment, and that moment of joy when the pieces fall into place.
So, let’s raise our glasses (filled with our favorite, “adult” beverage) and toast to “adulting’”— to figuring things out one step at a time, to the blunders and victories, and to the crazy, messy journey of life.
Adulthood may be a myth, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the ride.
There’s no one way to adult, no straight path to follow. It’s all a jumbled, tangled journey of experiences. A little like playing a game of Twister while blindfolded.
And while we might not have a manual, we do have each other.
Final Thoughts
Let’s continue to make it up as we go along, one “adulting” moment at a time.
In the end, we may not have it all figured out, but we’re learning, growing, and most importantly, living. And that, my friends, is what life — adulthood, childhood, and everything in between — is all about.
