Hello everybody,
I posted the part 1 of this post a while back and had said that I'd be revisiting this topic. Here is what I've learnt about 'adulting' this year.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about growing up and becoming an adult is- Responsibilities. I never truly understood the meaning of responsibilities until now; I'm sure I still barely understand it. Responsibilities are really hard to keep up with and fulfill. There are so many responsibilities and you can't skip any of them. You need to play multiple roles; take care of your money, food, grades, health, relationships, taxes etc. Missing out on any one of these could land you in big trouble. Sometimes you may need to pay attention to all of your responsibilities at the same time. It isn't like school where they distribute work throughout the semester. Although during exams, it feels like you have too much work, it is manageable. But when you are an adult, sometimes, it is impossible to do everything that is to be done; you just have to give up on some things and face the consequences. It is like an unfair game where there is no way to win sometimes. You just take the penalty and continue doing your best. The worst part is there is no fixed duration. If you have a stressful period, but you see an end to it, you can motivate yourself enough to push through it. But it isn't always that simple. Just after you finish one set of things, you'll have a whole bunch of other things waiting to be finished. You need to make a conscious effort to take a break and let your mind relax too. If you don't do that and overwork yourself, you will be the one to suffer its consequences later. This is what I've learnt about responsibilities now. You'll always have more responsibilities to handle than you can; you just have to prioritize. It will again be you who has to face the consequences of missing a few of your responsibilities. So you just need to decide what consequences you are willing to face and what you aren't.
The next biggest thing about becoming an adult is getting freedom. Freedom to take your own decisions. It isn't all that big a thing. Being given the freedom to take your own decisions comes with its own price. It implies that you are old enough to be trusted not to take foolish decisions. As a kid or a teen, doing what you wanted to do was freedom. Your parents did all the thinking part. You never had to think about the consequences of what you 'wanted' to do. The general idea we have as kids is that parents set constraints on us and when we become adults, those constraints will no longer be there. So we can do what we 'wanted'. Now I feel that this is a big misconception. We had it easier as kids. We could be assured that whatever our parents let us do could not harm us in anyway. Now it is up to us to set those limits. It doesn't mean you don't have constraints. It is only that you willingly set constraints for yourself. This is actually harder because you need to decide what is good for you and what isn't. This takes a lot of trial and error and you could end up hurting yourself in the process. As a kid, if you really wanted something desperately, you could fight, argue with your parents. If it wasn't a ridiculous demand, there is a very good chance that your parents would've found a way to let you have it. As an adult, if you really want something, but can't make it happen, you just accept it and move on. Situations act as constraints; you won't have a person to direct your frustration towards. Also, as a kid if you weren't allowed to do something you really wanted to, and if you cooperated, you'd usually be rewarded for it. Now, it is just the expected behavior. You won't have anyone give you a pat on your back or feel sorry for you.
A 3 year old would jump on furniture without hesitation. A ten year old would be much more restrained. Not because the 10 year old thinks that jumping on the sofa isn't fun. It is only because the ten year old probably fell a few times doing it and knows the risks involved. It is just the same growing up. You do get freedom; freedom to set constraints for yourself.
Adult life is pretty tough and boring. I'm sure I'll get better at it as I gain experience and I'll start to find ways to have fun along the way. But for now, this is all that I have to say on this topic.
Do let me know your views and opinions on this topic in the disqus section. I'd love to know what you think!
Until next time,
Bye! :D
I posted the part 1 of this post a while back and had said that I'd be revisiting this topic. Here is what I've learnt about 'adulting' this year.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about growing up and becoming an adult is- Responsibilities. I never truly understood the meaning of responsibilities until now; I'm sure I still barely understand it. Responsibilities are really hard to keep up with and fulfill. There are so many responsibilities and you can't skip any of them. You need to play multiple roles; take care of your money, food, grades, health, relationships, taxes etc. Missing out on any one of these could land you in big trouble. Sometimes you may need to pay attention to all of your responsibilities at the same time. It isn't like school where they distribute work throughout the semester. Although during exams, it feels like you have too much work, it is manageable. But when you are an adult, sometimes, it is impossible to do everything that is to be done; you just have to give up on some things and face the consequences. It is like an unfair game where there is no way to win sometimes. You just take the penalty and continue doing your best. The worst part is there is no fixed duration. If you have a stressful period, but you see an end to it, you can motivate yourself enough to push through it. But it isn't always that simple. Just after you finish one set of things, you'll have a whole bunch of other things waiting to be finished. You need to make a conscious effort to take a break and let your mind relax too. If you don't do that and overwork yourself, you will be the one to suffer its consequences later. This is what I've learnt about responsibilities now. You'll always have more responsibilities to handle than you can; you just have to prioritize. It will again be you who has to face the consequences of missing a few of your responsibilities. So you just need to decide what consequences you are willing to face and what you aren't.
The next biggest thing about becoming an adult is getting freedom. Freedom to take your own decisions. It isn't all that big a thing. Being given the freedom to take your own decisions comes with its own price. It implies that you are old enough to be trusted not to take foolish decisions. As a kid or a teen, doing what you wanted to do was freedom. Your parents did all the thinking part. You never had to think about the consequences of what you 'wanted' to do. The general idea we have as kids is that parents set constraints on us and when we become adults, those constraints will no longer be there. So we can do what we 'wanted'. Now I feel that this is a big misconception. We had it easier as kids. We could be assured that whatever our parents let us do could not harm us in anyway. Now it is up to us to set those limits. It doesn't mean you don't have constraints. It is only that you willingly set constraints for yourself. This is actually harder because you need to decide what is good for you and what isn't. This takes a lot of trial and error and you could end up hurting yourself in the process. As a kid, if you really wanted something desperately, you could fight, argue with your parents. If it wasn't a ridiculous demand, there is a very good chance that your parents would've found a way to let you have it. As an adult, if you really want something, but can't make it happen, you just accept it and move on. Situations act as constraints; you won't have a person to direct your frustration towards. Also, as a kid if you weren't allowed to do something you really wanted to, and if you cooperated, you'd usually be rewarded for it. Now, it is just the expected behavior. You won't have anyone give you a pat on your back or feel sorry for you.
A 3 year old would jump on furniture without hesitation. A ten year old would be much more restrained. Not because the 10 year old thinks that jumping on the sofa isn't fun. It is only because the ten year old probably fell a few times doing it and knows the risks involved. It is just the same growing up. You do get freedom; freedom to set constraints for yourself.
Adult life is pretty tough and boring. I'm sure I'll get better at it as I gain experience and I'll start to find ways to have fun along the way. But for now, this is all that I have to say on this topic.
Do let me know your views and opinions on this topic in the disqus section. I'd love to know what you think!
Until next time,
Bye! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment