8 Pros Of Adulthood
By Lance Pauker
Sponsored Content
1. You Are Free To Choose And Determine Your REAL Friends
Perhaps the foremost pro of adult life is that you don’t necessarily have to associate yourself with the institutions you were previously bound to–meaning that you can finally take full charge of who exactly you want to associate yourself with. If high school was a total nightmare, there is nothing keeping you in contact with those horrid people.
When it comes to dealing with other humans, adulthood offers you a lot more options.
2. Nobody Can Tell You What To Value More
Huge, huge, upside of adulthood that gives you the power to create your own, unique moral hierarchy–something you weren’t necessarily privy to prior.
Schooling oftentimes ingrains predetermined value systems in your head; i.e., task X should always be prioritized over task Y, because task Y isn’t as accepted in the general vein of “what you should be doing with your time.”
Some can make the argument that our working world mandates have replaced the schooling ones, but work–particularly the industries that populate the workplace–are malleable relative to our wants and needs.
If the norms and practices of an industry don’t fit your life values, nobody is holding you hostage, telling you that you’ve got to spend the rest of your life in that industry.
3. You have a lot more of an incentive to get really good at making sandwiches
Adults don’t get their sandwiches made by their parents. This is clearly sad, but if you look at the right way it’s properly empowering–because you devote the necessary time and effort into learning how to craft an excellent sandwich, your lunch will be satisfying. But f you don’t devote the necessary time and effort into learning how to craft an excellent sandwich, your lunch will be less than satisfactory.
On the other hand, if you don’t even consider learning how to craft your own sandwich and end up buying lunch everyday, you will be too broke to afford a computer. And therefore probably won’t be reading this article.
4. “I Have To Check With My Parents First…”
No you don’t.
(Huge upside. Do what you want. Not so much no rules, just make your own. And obey the law.)
5. Things You Used To Really Stress Over Matter A Lot Less
Another major pro is that 8th grade gossip seems to take a backseat–meaning you can set your focus on items with higher gravity, and stop fretting over the score of an exam, or whether or not that person you hooked up with last semester is gonna be at the party. These sillyish things will be far from your mind once you accrue greater responsibilities.
Part of this is a bit gloomy–as you start dealing with “real” problems you’ll probably be a bit more existentially challenged–but realizing that most trivialities are in fact that can be quite liberating.
6. Adults Don’t Look As Awkward In Nice Clothes
One of the best advantages of being recently knighted into the club of self-sufficiency? You’re old enough to look good, and young enough to look great. In the words of James Blunt, “you’re beautiful.”
Gone are those teenage years of not being able to properly fill out suits, or being unsure if the dress really is the proper call for an 18 year-old. Adults in dresswear look proper. They look right. It’s nice being able to pull this off.
7. You’re Now Smarter Than You’ve Ever Been
Knowledge is always a plus, because knowledge empowers you to have a better grasp of what you are doing. Adults are smart people. As one of them, you’re automatically a bit smarter.
Louis CK is an adult, and Louis CK has knowledge for everything The older you are, the smart you are. That simple:
“If you’re older, you’re smarter. I just believe that. If you’re in an argument with someone older than you, you should listen to ‘em. Even if they’re wrong, their wrongness is rooted in more information than you have.”
8. It’s Time To Build A Legacy
This is without a doubt the finest, most exciting pro of adulthood–it’s the first time you’re making your mark on the world, the first time you’re really getting an opportunity to make something of yourself. Awareness of this is huge–the ball’s in your court, and if you’re good enough you can win the championship. People can cheer your name. You can be elected into the hall of fame. You can be the greatest of all-time.
And you don’t even have to be athletic.