50 Things I’ve Done That Have Made Me Feel Like I’m An Adult (Or On My Way At Least)

1. Fallen asleep with a glass of wine in hand.

2. Fallen asleep during a horror movie.

3. Voluntarily worn stockings to a bar crawl.

4. Taken myself on dates, not because I’m single, but because this is my life and I like being alone sometimes.

5. Stopped giving so much weight to any and all relationship statuses.

6. Started caring what my room looks like when people come over.

7. Embraced confrontation instead of bottling things up.

8. Incorporated resume buzzwords into my everyday vocabulary.

9. Opted to buy clothes that look respectable over trendiness.

10. Trimmed the fat on my social circle.

11. Stayed home just to listen to Norah Jones Pandora.

12. Followed up on commitments despite a change in mood the day of.

13. Stopped feeling guilty for spending money on things I need (I wore the same $20 shoes for 3 years until they fell apart before I decided this was a good idea).

14. Stopped feeling guilty for spending money on books (sort of falls under the previous category tbh).

15. Stopped feeling guilty for spending more money on something of higher quality.

16. Stopped feeling guilty for embracing my new status as a Paper Chaser (a.k.a. realized it’s okay to want money).

17. Stopped downplaying my successes to cater to others’ egos.

18. Embraced certain aspects of my personality instead of trying to change them.

19. Tried to be more like my parents.

20. Placed less weight on the opinions of others and more weight on my own opinions.

21. Made plans.

22. Realized life doesn’t always care about the plans I make.

23. Realized it’s okay to make a new plan.

24. Let go of the ones I was losing sleep over.

25. Decided there are, in fact, some people actually worth losing sleep over.

26. Decided that to some degree, I have figured out who those people are.

27. Sent cards for people’s birthdays instead of just a text or post.

28. Said “No, I don’t feel like doing that.”

29. Made myself a budget.

30. Cared more about how I feel versus how I look.

31. Cared more about being honest versus being liked.

32. Gotten a basket for my junk mail.

33. Adjusted (somewhat) to a 9-5.

34. Cut back on comparisons because when we’re all so different it feels like an irrelevant pastime.

35. Started asking for the things that I want instead of hoping that someone would notice.

36. Gave up on the whole “they took this much time to wait before they responded so I’m going to wait twice that” I really don’t have the time, mental capacity or short-term memory for that anymore.

37. Learned when it is not appropriate to say “I’m sorry” (i.e. when I would say it as a reflex and not out of an actual need to be sorry).

38. Became more affectionate and stopped trying to pull off the nonchalant attitude (I was never good at it anyway).

39. Began viewing aspects of my life as transactions and investments, allowing me to make decisions on ground more solid than my current state of emotions.

40. Began asking for help on things that I truthfully could not do by myself.

41. Bought one of those towel wrap hat things.

42. Consciously reflected on times when I was an absolute jerk in the past.

43. Apologized for said times.

44. Felt gratitude for my body, my mind, and my heart.

45. Felt gratitude for my struggles now that I can see how helpful they were in hindsight.

46. Felt like I could tell people when they hurt my feelings.

47. Started to believe in magic in a more real-world sense, because yes, it does exist.

48. Made attempts to pay forward what I have learned.

49. Made attempts to learn more from those who are smarter than me.

50. Realized that sometimes it’s good to feel like an adult, and other times it’s important to remain a child.