So This is Adulthood

Things I've Always Wondered About Adulthood

1. Time - Where does it go?

I used to always think that once I was done with college, the CPA exam, and only had to work a 9 to 5 job that I would have all this free time on weekends and after work, but sadly that is not the case. Weekends are booked months in advanced, by the time I get home from the gym after work, it's laundry, dinner, dishes, etc. that need to be taken care of and if I'm lucky, I may get 30 minutes before I'd like to be in bed to either read or watch TV. Where does all the time go?

2. More Money, More Bills

Granted, I'm not living paycheck to paycheck but when I was studying in college I always thought wow, when I have a real job I am never going to worry about money again. Then when Vinnie and I started living together, I thought it's going to be great to share the household expenses with someone else and combine incomes. We can go out to eat and do whatever we want. Unfortunately, when it comes time to enter adulthood, things like bills get in the way. There's the cell phone bill, insurance, car payments for when your car died and you had to get a new one unexpectedly, rent, and student loans. It seems the money leaves as soon as you receive it and you don't really have as much leftover for "fun" as you want. 

3. Going Out To Bars Takes Effort

At what point do we cross the line where a loud, crowded bar becomes exactly that? When does the hot, sweaty bodies crowding the bar, the loud music, and sticky floors lose the sense of adventure and a new story for the next morning (or afternoon) to share with your friends? It seems like now if someone suggests going out for drinks on a Saturday night, we don't pick our favorite college bars to reminisce of all the times we would spin the shot wheel and dance on the pool tables and it was so loud we couldn't talk; instead, we suggest a new, quiet bar that has cozy booths where we can sit and catch up, while actually hearing one another. I didn't imagine this day would come until I at least reached my 40s!

4. A Bedtime... at 25?!

I would never have imagined that at 25 years old I would have a set bedtime that if I didn't adhere to it, I would wake up cranky. But here I am, at 25, that if I'm not in bed by 10 on a work night, it's hard to function the next day. Not even two years ago, I could stay up until 3 am; wake up for a 7:30 am class, and then go to work until 9 pm without yawning once. What happened in those two years? On a related note, why can I not sleep in anymore?

5. Actual Meals

When did eating brownie batter for dinner become unacceptable? When did finding whatever leftovers you could and having them for breakfast become unhealthy? Now, I find myself checking the ingredients of everything I buy to see if it is healthy enough to become part of my diet. I plan my meals for the week on Sunday to insure that when I grocery shop, I have enough stuff in the house to make a quality meal each night of the week. Some nights though, I would love to just eat some frosting.

6. When Did Your Life Become Everyone's Business?

So this isn't exactly something I've always wondered about because it is not a phenomenon reserved for those in young adulthood. From the time you are in kindergarten, people are asking you what you want to be when you grow up, where are you going to college, etc. Maybe it is just me, but it only seems to get worse. First it is when are you going to settle down, followed by, when are you getting married. When you finally do get married, it is when are you having kids, how many kids, how do you plan on raising them. Sometimes it seems as though there is no right answer. If I say, we will both still work and we will have a nanny or send them to daycare, people get offended, if I say one of us will stay home, people get offended. I just want to scream some day, that we haven't even decided when to have kids, so I don't know what our plans are for our future children that don't exist. I don't know what our circumstances will call for, etc. I just wish people would allow us to make decisions when they come and not try to dictate what we do with things we can't even control yet!

Happy Wednesday!

Jackie