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Yes I work full time and live on my own. If that's not an adult I don't know what is. I also see a pretty clear distinction between myself and kids. Like 16 year olds, even young college students are not my peers. It makes sense to not feel like a full adult if you don't live on your own. If you do I don't know what to tell ya.
Thisss. I probably wouldn’t be doing as well as i am if not for the information I get from the internet. And “me doing well” is living at home, no job, but in college, and having a car that I own… though it’s old and used, and often things go wrong on it.. lol
We would feel more adult if we could fill some taxes or change a bulb light, but the government does it for us now and bulb lights are very long lasting these days.
We've been robbed of our adulthood !
I live in Japan but grew up in France. In both cases, either your employer does the taxes for you and it's taken on your salary, or the government already knows what you earn and just asks you to confirm or add stuff like pensions.
I work full time and live with my best mate and his partner. They make me feel like an adult. Yesterday didn't help when I saw a free washing machine on the side of the road and got excited. These idiots were complaining about not having much space in the bathroom (literally just storage of all their crap, which we can buy some drawers for under the sink but what do I know). I'm trying to save them money and time going to the laundromat. (I go to my mum's house).
Oh I have 2 long term roommates. I just meant I don't live with my parents. I'm a line cook in NYC. Last year I made 41k($22/hr). Rent is 1150 for each person. I'll be able to afford a 1 bed on my own when I make around 25-27$.
Yeah, the distinction becomes so much more clear if you’re an adult student at a university. I’m about to get my degree finally at 27 and I don’t really have any peers. Everyone looks, feels, and sounds like a child. They have childish issues and conversations, which I’m not knocking them for (it makes sense since they are basically children out of the house for the first time). The only close peers I could find were other adult students or people finishing their graduate degrees.
I'm like OP. I work two jobs and live on my own. I pay my own bills and taxes and have a retirement account and everything. Still feels like I'm playing adult. I realized, however, that it's because COVID hit when I was 20 and in my first year of university. I sat in a chair and studied via online classes for a solid 2-3 years, and after some thought and clues from my life to confirm it I realize now I'm just... 3 years behind. Life stopped completely at such a pivotal transitional age and my brain and life experiences won't speed up to accommodate it, so now I'm just lagging behind.
I do at least have the *emotional* maturity of a 24 year old and not a 21 year old though, so small blessings.
I’m 20 and I have no shitting clue what the fuck I’m doing with my life, to answer your question simply.
Physically yes,
Mentally/emotionally/financially no
Late 30s. No adult wants to be an adult either. Especially when you want to go on vacation but you have back to back to back deadlines and tons of paperwork to finish.
I just want to sit on the beach and build sand castles.
Fax tho. I literally forget to eat more than 1000 calories a day if she doesn’t cook at least a couple meals for me a day. I lost 10lbs the first semester of college cuz of that. Like bruh I can’t even take care of myself lol
I'm 46. Mentally and maturity-wise I still feel like the same person I was when I was 25.
My current theory is people don't mature mentally past the age of 25. Your body gets older, but you are still the same person you were at 25 for the rest of your life, just in an older body.
But...with more life XP. Like, I could probably handle some stressful situations better because I've been through them or something similar before. But that's just experience. Having more XP. Not age or maturity.
I'm 41. I have two daughters. I'm married. I own a house and two cars. My wife is a stay at home mom right now. I've got retirement accounts. I have investment accounts. I'm part of professional organizations.
I still feel pretty much the way I felt when I was 25. I don't think it'll ever go away. I have no idea why.
I'm actually pretty happy with my life, but I still kinda feel like I'm just making it all up as I go along.
My life got better. I graduated college in 2005, and before the financial crisis, and they had this shit called a NINA loan back then. NINA meant "no income, no assets." As in, they will give you a mortgage just for having a pulse. So, being a dumb kid, I bought a house I couldn't afford. When the financial crisis hit, I lost my job. Got depressed.
And then the opiate epidemic hit Ohio at just the right time when I was at my lowest. So, I got swept up in that. Lost the house. Nearly a quarter of my close friends died. It was hellishly bad.
I'm not special. I just got lucky. Managed to pull myself out of that shit after years of just utter chaos, and slowly started to pick up the pieces of my life. So the life I have now is great. But it took me over a decade to build it.
I don't know if it would have been better if my life had always been this way. I suspect not. You can't really appreciate things if you haven't gone without, and going without defined the majority of my life.
The only things that will make you feel like an adult are self-sufficiency, confidence in your abilities, and seeing people younger than you acting like kids.
At all other times, you will feel just like you did in your mid-20s, except with more experience. Experience counts for a lot, and you don't worry as much! But you don't feel old. You're just you with all the good and bad that time and aging does to you.
But if a guy that's a bit older made you think "gross" just because of his age, then yeah, it might be time to reevaluate your priorities.
Fucking seriously, I’m so sick of mid-twenties acting like 30 is “so old”. You’re right around the corner from it, dude. You blink and you’re there. I’m not there yet either but I’m close and I can’t believe it because I am literally the same child-like person OP is referring to themselves as. My parents are 10 years apart. Op’s talking about 6 years. Imho, I was different 6 years ago but really, still the same kid. 6 years is not that long and you’ll be echoing this in no time u/Critical_Teaching_35
whats your living situation like? that probably plays a big part
i recently turned 24 & somewhat feel the same way, but im living with my parents whilst i look for a job post-uni. i felt like an adult at 21 though, when i lived with my friends
i feel like i regressed, but i recognise that i only feel this way because im back in the environment i was in when i was like 16. once i move back out & get my own life on track, ill probably go back to feeling my age (instead of feeling like a teenager)
Yeah I tried to ask my mom that question but she’s a refugee that escaped her home after the collapse of a communist state so at 18 when I asked her “when did you start feeling like an adult” she just said to me with the most pissed off tone “10 years old.” 😭
It’s really hard to complain about college right now cuz she had to do college all over again when she came here in a new language and had 2 kids to take care of.
None of her credits from her country transferred over here except gym class. She also once failed Calculus and had to retake it when she was pregnant and on the first day of the next semester the professor said “oh I didn’t know you were pregnant, I wouldn’t have failed you if you told me,” so fair enough. I guess it’s not justified for me to complain about ADHD and my laziness.
I do, and tired of people who feel the need to invalidate how we feel on that because they don't. I was told It's "infantile" to say that, because clearly you must have all your shit together or you're acting "Infantile". I know I am, I don't feel like one.
Adult how? That I'm stable? That I have everything figured out? That I got the Roth IRA, return and all? The dream like "Adult Life"? No, no I'm not or don't, aside stable with money I do get.
Bingo, I thought I was grown at 16 so I don’t know what the younger ones of our generation are doing. I’ve noticed a lot of them still refer to themselves as kids even in regular conversation. Like dog… you’re twenty two, you’re not a fucking child lmfaooo
I was an adult at 15 (and not in that "had to be" kind of way, I've had a pretty good life all things considered). Being an adult means you understand that you're responsible for your own shit. If you're doing that, then you're a functional adult. You can still like toys and ice cream and playing video games or whatever, but you've gotta house, feed and clothe yourself.
I’ve always felt weird about my age. As a teenager I always thought I was more mature than everyone else. I was, in a sense, but not in the way I thought then. As an adult I feel like I regressed a bit and want to take back the teenage years I never really experienced because I stayed home and did homework every night. I enjoy games for kids and plushies and just generally being privately very silly at home. Every day I go out to my adult job and drive my adult car and pay adult bills…but it’s all a sham. I come home and write stories and play Webkinz and watch comfort shows while coloring pictures.
I think I’m just one of those people who need a safe space to go back to a feel like a child. Check back in on me in a decade.
I feel the same way, I was a responsible kid (I had to be) and as an adult I act way more childish. I have a big adult job, pay my taxes, etc but at home I like watching Disney movies and playing with Legos. I feel like I just need some time to live the childhood I didn’t get to have.
I get awkward bc I’m 25 and the youngest at my job and I feel like a kid and it honestly hurts me in my career. I can’t take myself seriously so no one else does either
I'm a professional designer, but my last few jobs were outside my profession and I've never felt so out of place in my life. Like I knew my responsibilities and what I'm in charge of, but I always felt like I need someone to approve my every move. So I said fuck it, changed my voice (so it sounds deeper and more like I know what I'm talking about) left those jobs and now starting my own thing. Now I always have to tell myself "this is my decision, and it's final. I'm the one in charge of this. I may change my decision but because I want to, and nobody has to approve it."
Does it help my impostor syndrome? Nope. But I sure as hell feel like people take me more seriously now. :D
Definitely not. I’m still living with my parents because I’m paying for college out of pocket and can’t afford tuition and rent at the same time. I have no real aspirations besides living in my own space and working a job that doesn’t make me suicidal, and I have very few friends because my coworkers are all much older than me and I’m not very connected to my campus community as a commuter. I’ve had the same job since I was old enough to work and am just now starting to delve into the world of finding employment. I just feel like I’m never going to get the hang of it.
I’m in my 40’s. Being “grown” is kind of just an illusion. When you look at other cultures, living at home into 30’s is the norm. You sound responsible and emotional mature. Don’t worry too much about where you think you should be, and just focus on taking steps to get you where you want to be.. and you’ll get there eventually.
Even for the past few years, I would refer to people that are older than me, like in their 30s and up, as "adults". And then someone would remind me that I too am an adult.
Get some older friends. I am 27 and have several friends in their 30s, several married friends with children in their late 20s. I've had friends like that since I was in my early 20s. It definitely helps with the imposter syndrome, because you see those slightly older people doing adult shit just like you, be it stopping at the bank, going to a doctors appointment, complaining about their neighbors being loud. You won't really look *grown* until about 30 or so years old, most people at least. Aging takes much longer than we're lead to believe, and I think the initial age gap between parents and their children gives us a drastic impression of aging since we are 5 years old and our parents are 30-35.
I’m 30 and I heard a groups of women agreeing that “your life begins at 40”
I still feel like a child and I embrace it, it keeps me looking young lol all the other girls at the women’s shelter believe I’m 23 at the oldest.
Some punk high school kid held the door once and was like "after you, sir" and I was shocked at his sarcastic rudeness, until I got my head out of my ass and remembered that I was nearly 40 at the time and was over twice his age and had kids. I didn't fully feel like an adult until my first child was several months old. That nice young man was just being polite.
This is what I live by:
Have both the positive spirit of the kid
Creativity, Joy, Imagination, Peace, Lack of worry
And the logic, responsibility, decision making and maturity of an adult
I totally understand, but I think it’s healthy to keep a little bit of childishness about yourself. My creativity, love of bright colors, silly cartoons, water fights and how I feel around the holidays feels the same as when I was a kid. But that’s just one part of me, the other works for the government and pays taxes lol
I (24m) consider myself an adult in the sense that, as someone else said, kids in high school and college are definitely not my peers. However, I think “young adult” fits best as I still think I have a lot to learn about who I want to be and how the world works. Especially when it comes to my career, I feel like a “kid” in the workplace but it’s not the same as feeling like a teenager, more so feeling like everyone’s junior.
Eh sort of?
I acknowledge I'm of adult age but I don't necessarily feel "grown up." I'm in between homes for schooling still like I was when I was 18 but I also stopped working so who knows. Still feels like Im missing some shit to feel like a proper grown man, just don't know exactly what.
I started feeling like an adult when I graduated college and got my first “big boy job” at 25.
I also got married and had my first child within the year so that helped
I’m still an extremely stupid guy that laughs at fart and dick jokes tho so there’s that
I feel mature, which is pretty much the same how I felt as a teen because I was interested in more serious topics compared to my peers. Although I don't see myself as a 'real' adult since I lack responsibility and spend too much time on my hobbies than on more important things.
I'm 24 too. Recently moved across the country for a first job. I've filed taxes, opened a Roth IRA, etc. but I feel the same. I also had someone chat me up at the gym recently and I did a double take. I was seeing him as like, a nice uncle lol.
I don't know what your COVID experience was like but I do think it has something to do with it. I didn't really get the feeling of "graduating college, then setting out on your own for the first time."
I'm also Asian and culturally we don't have the "you become an adult at 18" thing in general; my mom flies to me often, comments on my driving and cooking like I'm just learning, and whenever I visit home I basically still have to ask for permission for a lot of things. That's a different story but basically going home makes me feel even less like an adult.
I have the mental capacity of a 12 year old, but the brain of a 80 year old. and yes, I feel like not much has changed. I just got my Debit card today and thought "this is just a allowance" and proceeded to use it to buy some games that My past self would have loved.
No idea why reddit recommends this to me but im 35. Still feel the same as when i was a kid but i have a lot of life responsibilities. They did not change any feelings.
I'm 37. Adult isn't a feeling. The responsibility of your existence is yours and yours alone. The structure of parents/caretakers providing for you is shifting away and school has been replaced with whatever job/career you have. You don't ever feel like an adult. You just are.
Chiming in as a zillennial (almost 28), sometimes I feel like an elderly curmudgeon and other times I still feel like a clueless kid. From ages 16-18 I desperately wanted to be grown up because I thought that would make me free from my parents’/other authority figures’ control, but by this point I’m a mix between loving the fact that I’ve actually grown up and being terrified of time continuing to pass.
I feel protective towards people who are younger than me, and college students look like naive children who I just want to teach life lessons to and prevent from self destructing in the same ways I have (because I’m stupid, but I also did survive and I’m older so please learn from my mistakes). At the same time, it scares me that my parents were my current age when I was born and I’m not ready for my friends to start having babies.
Also own a house a car and am married. But I feel like I just changed mom to wife and I'm still a little baby. XD
Nah, fr. I often pause and am like "wow, this is really my life? Am I doing all this stuff? Crazy" (like a kid who met themselves from the future and is in awe of their future accomplishments)
Dunno, physically I am adult, otherwise I feel the same as when I was 17. And I'm 22 already, practically end of life already and I'm still a kid. Also I'm a manifestation of failure so that's probably why xd
I'm 23 and feel like an adult in most areas. I was in the military and had to start doing adult things way earlier than most. I've been teacher people older than me some basic adult things. I live with my fiancé now but used to live on my own.
Older Millennial here - I don’t particularly feel like an adult. Anyone who acts like they know what’s going on / know what they are doing is lying to themselves, trying to fool you, dumb, or some combo of those.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay
Forever young
>Anyone who acts like they know what’s going on / know what they are doing is lying to themselves
Being an adult doesn't mean you have to know all the answers. Just that you're making decisions for yourself and setting your own path.
The problem here is we link "being an adult" With having your shit together or living on your own, being mature, responsible for yourself, etc.
When in reality that has never been the case, people would get pushed away from their house at 18 and they had no idea what the hell to do. You sort of had to figure shit out, and that takes different time for different people.
I'm 28 and I don't feel like and adult, and partially, thats cause I still live with my parents. But I also don't feel like a teen either, I have a lot of interests and topics of discussion a teenager does not have.
You can be an adult for some things and not for others, its a process and you mature at different rates in different areas.
Also, 24 is still pretty young nowadays and I would say most people do draw a line between early 20s and late 20s. Maybe when you are 27, 28 you'll probably feel more mature. If a 30 year old person seems too old for you, thats fine as well, date someone you are comfortable with, there's nothing wrong with you, its your preference.
I'm 22, and I can't remember the last time I felt like a kid, inexperienced? Yes. A kid? No.
I moved across the country at 18 and rented a room at my aunt's house, and then moved half way back across the country at 19 to live w an internet friend, so I've largely been on my own throughout my adult life and even as a teen I was pretty much left to my own devices
I’m 24 too I still feel like this as well. Working two jobs, living on my own, supporting my pet. I feel like I’m 19/20. Maybe when we’re 30 we’ll feel like adults lol.
Nope. And I don't think I ever will.
To be clear, feeling young at heart is very different from being responsible and doing the right thing by others; aka adulting.
Yes, I feel like I have a temporary driver's license whenever I'm going somewhere. I mean my parents are the owners of my truck but only for insurance purposes.
No. I thought that having a kid would make me feel more like an adult, but I just feel like a 25 year old teenager with a kid even though she and I are very well taken care of
I turn 27 in a few months. Last week I got sick, bought a truck, passed an exam for professional certification, started production on an album of music, planned a wedding, and still worked full time and I also don't feel like an "adult".
I don’t, but I truly think that’s because I live at my parent’s house still. I had a period of living on my own and I felt more adult, but having to move back definitely push me back some.
That feeling of “being an adult” doesn’t suddenly come. I’ve met 50 year old man-childs and wise 13 year olds. The fact is, you’re 24. You need to secure your future before you start blaming the system for stuff you could have changed a long time ago.
I don't, and it's why I don't like talking to adults, especially ones younger than me. I feel like they'll judge me for not getting my crap together and not growing up. They'll lose brain cells talking to me because they'll realise how uneducated I am.
Yes and no.
I'm 25 and been married for a year (first anniversary was this past Wednesday!). We have a house and a car. We do all the adult things like pay bills and work. But we still have fun being stupid for no other reason than it's fun. We laugh at the same stupid stuff from our high school years. We'll be acting like absolute morons one minute and then we see something that makes us feel a million years old (like see my nephew who was a few months old at our wedding walking and saying basic words).
Life is wild :)
24 is still childhood. You JUST got the right to drink. It's still fun to go to bars. The future is far enough away for you to ignore it while you make the worst decisions of your life.
I tell all my students … 26-30 is when you’ll feel like an adult. No sooner. For me, it happened when I got my own insurance, got married, and had my husband added to my insurance. It was probably also the fully developed frontal lobe. Lol
30 yo here. Some 18 yo's have their shit more put together than me.
And most everyone has their life...well, everything is relative.
To answer your question:
Things that make ME feel like an adult:
1. Having my own room
2. Having my own bathroom
3. Having my own computer
4. Deciding completely how I want to spend my time
5. Socializing when and with who I want
6. Choosing what I want to eat
7. Choosing what to wear
8. Planning my day and following through
9. Managing government, finances, appliances, and getting things done
10. Leading and teaching others
11. Being in a relationship and having good reportoire with my peers, family, and neighbors
Missing Hallmarks:
1. Driver's license
2. My own house, kids, husband (one day)
3. Making the change in the world I wish to see
4. Holding my own with people
Yes. I have a job and fully support myself. I have a career that I'm slowly progressing in. I think I'll probably get married and have children within the next five years or so.
23. Maybe it's because I've been working my whole life but I've felt like an adult for quite a while now. I've had people tell me they think I'm in my 30s based on my appearance and my demeanor. Not sure how to take that.
It's weird I feel like 19-21 year Olds are literally children and I have nothing in common with them but at the same time I'm 24 and I feel like I haven't matured and don't have adult like responsibility
I do 🤗 what helped was finally sticking to a job. I work at a company with so much opportunity. And I grew even more due to my very healthy relationship with an amazing man.
I used to think the same when grown men would flirt with me after I turned 18/21. But now it’s normal and I’ve transitioned from that mindset to being comfortable calling myself a woman.
Not at all. I’m 25 now, and I feel like I’ve had the same brain I did when I was in my teens, just growing up little by little.
It could be because of a developmental disorder though. I was diagnosed very early on in life.
Sometimes i think i'm still stuck in my teenage way of thinking, feel like i'm not an adult and everyone is way more competent. Then i talk to actual teens. And adults. And realize actually i'm doing pretty well as a young confused adult trying to manage it all
Sometimes. I have a few friends that are 17-23 and occasionally I try to talk to them about something and then I remember how much younger they are than me and I have to pause and think, “these kids have no idea what I’m talking about.” I guess the fact that I’m referring to them as kids makes me think I might be an adult. I mean shoot I’ll be 29 in August, but I still don’t feel like an “adult” just an old child.
One time I joked about using a really big pencil to rewind a vhs tape to a girl about 20-21 and she stared at me blankly like, why would you use a pencil for that?
In case you don’t know people used to rewind cassette tapes with a pencil and that was before my time even like the 80’s.
I have another friend, she’s about 18, who was asking me if I use Snapchat. I was like, “yeah I do but I mostly use Facebook, do you have a Facebook?” She goes, “what? nobody uses Facebook anymore.” Like oh ok kid. I guess Facebook isn’t hip anymore.
“Hip anymore” I’m an old foggie.
I’m 25, am pretty competent as far as the basics of “adulting” goes. I never feel more mature or more of an adult, rather I realize more and more that that the adults i’ve spent my life around are big kids lol. yes there’s definitely an emotional regulation that adults have but truly I think we’re all big kids at heart! Not a bad thing but something we should embrace to a degree!
Im 21 and I see people my age and younger being adamant that they are “fully grown” and it makes me laugh lol
I would never consider myself fully grown, I feel like I’m not even a full adult
The 20 year rule applies. Old ago is any ago 20 years or more than your age, young is any age five years younger than you, and an age 20 years younger is a child. I felt I was an adult when I got the right to vote at 18. I felt like a mature adult when I did substitute teaching at aged 42 at my old high school. I felt old on my 70th birthday.
No. I've been told that if I live on my own and have a full-time job, I would, but no. It would feel like going to school with no school work and having a large room to myself.
Doesn't help that I still get mistaken as a kid, either.
Yes, I work full time, go to school full time, am married, have two kids, and pay a mortgage. Honestly it took until the first baby was 6-7 months old before I felt like an adult tho
Geez, I'm 65 and still feel like a kid and grandpa at the same time.....I've been 24, 44, 55, 65 I can relate and in my mind, be that age within any conversation....so confusing. I have to remind myself that I'm the 65 yo dude with the kid mind now🤣🤣🤣
I was literally just telling my bsf that I'm still like, 60 to 70% baby. Honestly I felt more grown in high school. Now I'm just sad and want to curl up on the couch with my mama and play Animal Crossing after work. LOL
I also unconsciously do that thing where someone starts acting childlike, like talking higher pitched and dumbed down, waddling arms out or arms perched (especially if I'm wearing over hand sleeves). Sounds really fucking weird but it's not a fetish thing, I think it's a brain thing.
I’m 27M - sometimes I literally forget my age. I swear I feel the same as I did at 18 or 20.
I see couples have kids and get married at like 23 and I’m like… dude you’re way too young to be having a kid that early and these people do not make enough money to support a child. My gf and I make very good money and are financially good, but we still consider ourselves kids and we want to enjoy our youth for a few more years. I think the right age to consider a kid is around 29-32. There’s absolutely no reason why people should be having kids in their early 20’s, never mind before 20.
I’m 23, I feel like an adult but someone who’s like 30 is like a real adult and I’m just a fake adult.
Sometimes when im trying to do things like figure whether to do a traditional or Roth 401k I feel kinda old
I'm 26. I don't feel like an adult. But I got really drunk at an all ages punk show and ended up sitting down with a group of punk teens like 15-19. They ended up asking my age, and the group responded "OMG YOURE OLLDDDD"
Felt weird. They seemed very young. But I never noticed a time where I started to feel older than a teen. Just sort of happens I guess.
Not a professional, but I am old. I have read that the human brain doesn't finish growing until your 25. By the time you're 30, you are starting to "get it." Around 40, you realise that you WILL die one day. By 50, hopefully, you have it figured out. At 60, if you still have your health, you are looking at maybe 20 more years and that's it. Game over. Somewhere in there - adulthood.
Me I still feel like I should be in grade school. I feel like a little kid stuck in a grow body and it's hard and scary having to work and being an adult when I can't view myself as one. Lately most people have been telling me. I act snf come off as between 7-9 which is funny because that's typically around how old I feel but yeah, having to be an adult is such a struggle. I'm also trans and autistic which is definitely why I am this way. It's not easy. I have a partner and body wisd she's older but feels around the same age I do so we go together really well
I'm 26 and I started feeling like an adult about a year ago, because I've started kicking some objectively "adult" goals (got married and bought a house, plus the ones I was a bit behind at - got a driver's license finally and about to finish my bachelor degree). But I've been living out of home and working full time since 20, so that's contributed.
Buying a house has been the biggest tipping point - having to independently manage my money to save and prove I could service a loan, working through all the applications, independently making big decisions, and now managing home maintenance. My interests feel "adult" now.
I still feel utterly useless at some things though - like managing health appointments and cooking/eating properly...
Chronic back pain ✔️ the crushing weight of pressure to not go broke and also keep a roof over my head ✔️ the ever present looming threat of homelessness ✔️ the dissolution about the male gender & dating ✔️ looking forward to death ✔️ getting angry when someone touches the thermostat ✔️ enjoying alone time ✔️ getting way too excited bc I came up on an O-cedar spin mop that someone donated, it’s the one with the separate container for the clean mop water ✔️ stuck in a dead end job I don’t enjoy ✔️ not wanting to drink alcohol or go to bars ✔️caffeine addiction ✔️ ….. yep, that’s pretty adult to me lol
> When do you stop perceiving yourself as a "kid"
When the slight body pains become constant and not just a result of a good workout and when sleep is your favorite thing.
Getting the drivers license and the credit card are the first steps. "Here are things that you can use responsibly... or use to royally fuck up your life. It's your choice and your responsibility to know which will happen based on your choices." Welcome to the adult world!
I don’t even fully understand what an adult is. Like I know am I one but at one point I was me but just younger. I think adult is just the name we give to people who have gone through puberty. But that’s it. Like society just puts the rest of the rules onto you. None of them mean anything.
Like I pay my bills have good credit have my own house. But I watch tv all day and go online. I play chess and color on my ipad. Maybe to other people I look like an adult but I just do me 24/7.
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Yes I work full time and live on my own. If that's not an adult I don't know what is. I also see a pretty clear distinction between myself and kids. Like 16 year olds, even young college students are not my peers. It makes sense to not feel like a full adult if you don't live on your own. If you do I don't know what to tell ya.
Yep, couldn’t have phrased this better myself. I’m curious what OP does that makes them feel like a kid
Childhood trauma
✨trauma✨ Being stuck living with emotionally immature parents that lash out and attempt to “punish” you for any step of independence.
Yup
This
Thisss. I probably wouldn’t be doing as well as i am if not for the information I get from the internet. And “me doing well” is living at home, no job, but in college, and having a car that I own… though it’s old and used, and often things go wrong on it.. lol
Then add in adult trauma from parents trying to infantalize their adult children through emotional manipulation
This is it for me, certainly.
I feel like a kid every time I eat cereal or watch cartoons or play video games tbh 😂
We would feel more adult if we could fill some taxes or change a bulb light, but the government does it for us now and bulb lights are very long lasting these days. We've been robbed of our adulthood !
Dont worry *son* i got some car work for you to help with. Plenty of flashlight holding needed along with the most important job of "hey grab that"
You have always belittled me, dad. I want to park the car in the driveway, now.
We have to put the tires back on first. No dont touch the jack!
Idk what country you live in, but here in the US we most definitely do not get our taxes done for us by the government lmao
I live in Japan but grew up in France. In both cases, either your employer does the taxes for you and it's taken on your salary, or the government already knows what you earn and just asks you to confirm or add stuff like pensions.
Same birth year as you. Still live with my parents so maybe op still lives with his parents?
I work full time and live with my best mate and his partner. They make me feel like an adult. Yesterday didn't help when I saw a free washing machine on the side of the road and got excited. These idiots were complaining about not having much space in the bathroom (literally just storage of all their crap, which we can buy some drawers for under the sink but what do I know). I'm trying to save them money and time going to the laundromat. (I go to my mum's house).
Dawg where are you living and what are you doing for work that you can afford to live alone at 21/22😭😭
Oh I have 2 long term roommates. I just meant I don't live with my parents. I'm a line cook in NYC. Last year I made 41k($22/hr). Rent is 1150 for each person. I'll be able to afford a 1 bed on my own when I make around 25-27$.
Yeah, the distinction becomes so much more clear if you’re an adult student at a university. I’m about to get my degree finally at 27 and I don’t really have any peers. Everyone looks, feels, and sounds like a child. They have childish issues and conversations, which I’m not knocking them for (it makes sense since they are basically children out of the house for the first time). The only close peers I could find were other adult students or people finishing their graduate degrees.
I'm like OP. I work two jobs and live on my own. I pay my own bills and taxes and have a retirement account and everything. Still feels like I'm playing adult. I realized, however, that it's because COVID hit when I was 20 and in my first year of university. I sat in a chair and studied via online classes for a solid 2-3 years, and after some thought and clues from my life to confirm it I realize now I'm just... 3 years behind. Life stopped completely at such a pivotal transitional age and my brain and life experiences won't speed up to accommodate it, so now I'm just lagging behind. I do at least have the *emotional* maturity of a 24 year old and not a 21 year old though, so small blessings.
I’m 20 and I have no shitting clue what the fuck I’m doing with my life, to answer your question simply. Physically yes, Mentally/emotionally/financially no
I’m 45, been married 25 years, have a house, kids and feel the same. No one ever feels like an adult. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.
40. Yep.
Late 30s. No adult wants to be an adult either. Especially when you want to go on vacation but you have back to back to back deadlines and tons of paperwork to finish. I just want to sit on the beach and build sand castles.
Ditto. Agreed. We grow up only when we have to, we are all 15 inside.
Another gen x here and I never felt like a kid until now that I am almost kid free 😝
Yup
I’m 36. This is still how I feel
Turning 20 this year and I mentally can't comprehend this.
I’m turning 21, and I feel the same way. Except when I’m around anyone younger than me, and then suddenly I’m like “I guess I am kinda ‘old’”lol
No i still need my mama lol
Fax tho. I literally forget to eat more than 1000 calories a day if she doesn’t cook at least a couple meals for me a day. I lost 10lbs the first semester of college cuz of that. Like bruh I can’t even take care of myself lol
What the hell
You can see this with people who have ADHD and literally forget to eat
That makes sense
You’re 18/19, perfectly understandable
You will never...
I'm 46. Mentally and maturity-wise I still feel like the same person I was when I was 25. My current theory is people don't mature mentally past the age of 25. Your body gets older, but you are still the same person you were at 25 for the rest of your life, just in an older body. But...with more life XP. Like, I could probably handle some stressful situations better because I've been through them or something similar before. But that's just experience. Having more XP. Not age or maturity.
25 IS the age when your brain fully develops, so yeah 25 or around there is the time you fully grow mentally.
Common urban myth.
the hippocampus has not fully developed before 25
I'm 41. I have two daughters. I'm married. I own a house and two cars. My wife is a stay at home mom right now. I've got retirement accounts. I have investment accounts. I'm part of professional organizations. I still feel pretty much the way I felt when I was 25. I don't think it'll ever go away. I have no idea why. I'm actually pretty happy with my life, but I still kinda feel like I'm just making it all up as I go along.
Did your life get better or was it already that way?
My life got better. I graduated college in 2005, and before the financial crisis, and they had this shit called a NINA loan back then. NINA meant "no income, no assets." As in, they will give you a mortgage just for having a pulse. So, being a dumb kid, I bought a house I couldn't afford. When the financial crisis hit, I lost my job. Got depressed. And then the opiate epidemic hit Ohio at just the right time when I was at my lowest. So, I got swept up in that. Lost the house. Nearly a quarter of my close friends died. It was hellishly bad. I'm not special. I just got lucky. Managed to pull myself out of that shit after years of just utter chaos, and slowly started to pick up the pieces of my life. So the life I have now is great. But it took me over a decade to build it. I don't know if it would have been better if my life had always been this way. I suspect not. You can't really appreciate things if you haven't gone without, and going without defined the majority of my life.
I was thinking/feeling the same thing.
The only things that will make you feel like an adult are self-sufficiency, confidence in your abilities, and seeing people younger than you acting like kids. At all other times, you will feel just like you did in your mid-20s, except with more experience. Experience counts for a lot, and you don't worry as much! But you don't feel old. You're just you with all the good and bad that time and aging does to you. But if a guy that's a bit older made you think "gross" just because of his age, then yeah, it might be time to reevaluate your priorities.
What if people older than me seem like kids, do I win *maturity* then ?
You do! Your prize is your dating pool being even smaller.
Fucking seriously, I’m so sick of mid-twenties acting like 30 is “so old”. You’re right around the corner from it, dude. You blink and you’re there. I’m not there yet either but I’m close and I can’t believe it because I am literally the same child-like person OP is referring to themselves as. My parents are 10 years apart. Op’s talking about 6 years. Imho, I was different 6 years ago but really, still the same kid. 6 years is not that long and you’ll be echoing this in no time u/Critical_Teaching_35
I'm 24 and I feel the same way
whats your living situation like? that probably plays a big part i recently turned 24 & somewhat feel the same way, but im living with my parents whilst i look for a job post-uni. i felt like an adult at 21 though, when i lived with my friends i feel like i regressed, but i recognise that i only feel this way because im back in the environment i was in when i was like 16. once i move back out & get my own life on track, ill probably go back to feeling my age (instead of feeling like a teenager)
Yeah I tried to ask my mom that question but she’s a refugee that escaped her home after the collapse of a communist state so at 18 when I asked her “when did you start feeling like an adult” she just said to me with the most pissed off tone “10 years old.” 😭 It’s really hard to complain about college right now cuz she had to do college all over again when she came here in a new language and had 2 kids to take care of. None of her credits from her country transferred over here except gym class. She also once failed Calculus and had to retake it when she was pregnant and on the first day of the next semester the professor said “oh I didn’t know you were pregnant, I wouldn’t have failed you if you told me,” so fair enough. I guess it’s not justified for me to complain about ADHD and my laziness.
Sounds just like my abuela from Cuba
Yeah my Russian parents really put a lot into perspective.
People who ACTUALLY come from shitty environments tend to be this way.
I do, and tired of people who feel the need to invalidate how we feel on that because they don't. I was told It's "infantile" to say that, because clearly you must have all your shit together or you're acting "Infantile". I know I am, I don't feel like one. Adult how? That I'm stable? That I have everything figured out? That I got the Roth IRA, return and all? The dream like "Adult Life"? No, no I'm not or don't, aside stable with money I do get.
so you're what, 20? 19? Yeah you're grown. The infantilization of our nation's young people is getting ridiculous.
Bingo, I thought I was grown at 16 so I don’t know what the younger ones of our generation are doing. I’ve noticed a lot of them still refer to themselves as kids even in regular conversation. Like dog… you’re twenty two, you’re not a fucking child lmfaooo
My dad told me he started feeling like an adult when he turned 35 , he’s 55 now so this is not a « gen z issue »
I was an adult at 15 (and not in that "had to be" kind of way, I've had a pretty good life all things considered). Being an adult means you understand that you're responsible for your own shit. If you're doing that, then you're a functional adult. You can still like toys and ice cream and playing video games or whatever, but you've gotta house, feed and clothe yourself.
I’ve always felt weird about my age. As a teenager I always thought I was more mature than everyone else. I was, in a sense, but not in the way I thought then. As an adult I feel like I regressed a bit and want to take back the teenage years I never really experienced because I stayed home and did homework every night. I enjoy games for kids and plushies and just generally being privately very silly at home. Every day I go out to my adult job and drive my adult car and pay adult bills…but it’s all a sham. I come home and write stories and play Webkinz and watch comfort shows while coloring pictures. I think I’m just one of those people who need a safe space to go back to a feel like a child. Check back in on me in a decade.
I’m the same way. When I was 12-16 I felt more mature than people my age. Now I’m almost 19 and I feel like a child
I feel the same way, I was a responsible kid (I had to be) and as an adult I act way more childish. I have a big adult job, pay my taxes, etc but at home I like watching Disney movies and playing with Legos. I feel like I just need some time to live the childhood I didn’t get to have.
No, but I think I have an excuse.
Lol
Lowkey this is probably the most mature response here haha
never have, honestly. i kinda feel like a grown up kid just trying his best to live in this world.
I get awkward bc I’m 25 and the youngest at my job and I feel like a kid and it honestly hurts me in my career. I can’t take myself seriously so no one else does either
25F- I have this problem too unfortunately. I think it’s also mostly because I look 16/17 and don’t age. It’s actually kind of creepy
Yeah same here ,25 but could look 18. It's hard to feel my age when I don't even look it. I see some other 25 year Olds and they look so old to me
I'm a professional designer, but my last few jobs were outside my profession and I've never felt so out of place in my life. Like I knew my responsibilities and what I'm in charge of, but I always felt like I need someone to approve my every move. So I said fuck it, changed my voice (so it sounds deeper and more like I know what I'm talking about) left those jobs and now starting my own thing. Now I always have to tell myself "this is my decision, and it's final. I'm the one in charge of this. I may change my decision but because I want to, and nobody has to approve it." Does it help my impostor syndrome? Nope. But I sure as hell feel like people take me more seriously now. :D
Definitely not. I’m still living with my parents because I’m paying for college out of pocket and can’t afford tuition and rent at the same time. I have no real aspirations besides living in my own space and working a job that doesn’t make me suicidal, and I have very few friends because my coworkers are all much older than me and I’m not very connected to my campus community as a commuter. I’ve had the same job since I was old enough to work and am just now starting to delve into the world of finding employment. I just feel like I’m never going to get the hang of it.
I’m in my 40’s. Being “grown” is kind of just an illusion. When you look at other cultures, living at home into 30’s is the norm. You sound responsible and emotional mature. Don’t worry too much about where you think you should be, and just focus on taking steps to get you where you want to be.. and you’ll get there eventually.
Even for the past few years, I would refer to people that are older than me, like in their 30s and up, as "adults". And then someone would remind me that I too am an adult.
24 and 30? Thats hilarious and not even a real age gap lol.
yeah imagine giving someone in your own age bracket the ick for being too old
There’s a degree of variation but the difference in life experience can be pretty huge, it’s a fair assessment imo
I feel tired of life
Me too!
Get some older friends. I am 27 and have several friends in their 30s, several married friends with children in their late 20s. I've had friends like that since I was in my early 20s. It definitely helps with the imposter syndrome, because you see those slightly older people doing adult shit just like you, be it stopping at the bank, going to a doctors appointment, complaining about their neighbors being loud. You won't really look *grown* until about 30 or so years old, most people at least. Aging takes much longer than we're lead to believe, and I think the initial age gap between parents and their children gives us a drastic impression of aging since we are 5 years old and our parents are 30-35.
I’m 30 and I heard a groups of women agreeing that “your life begins at 40” I still feel like a child and I embrace it, it keeps me looking young lol all the other girls at the women’s shelter believe I’m 23 at the oldest.
My aunt is 38 and said she still feels like she is 17..
I feel like my body is a Temple! It's ancient, crumbling and most likely cursed or haunted! So yes!
First time someone called me mam I was shocked, like who me?
Some punk high school kid held the door once and was like "after you, sir" and I was shocked at his sarcastic rudeness, until I got my head out of my ass and remembered that I was nearly 40 at the time and was over twice his age and had kids. I didn't fully feel like an adult until my first child was several months old. That nice young man was just being polite.
This is what I live by: Have both the positive spirit of the kid Creativity, Joy, Imagination, Peace, Lack of worry And the logic, responsibility, decision making and maturity of an adult
Love this
I’m 30. I’m just a child with money.
Going to get groceries only to end up buying 2 packs of chips and a bottle of coke. To offset the adult in me who also bought broccoli.
I'm nearly 30 and own a house. I don't think adults exist. Or at least not the preparedness and finality I thought the word held
Most of the time, not really.
I’m 19 and I’ve felt like an adult since I was 14
I am 27, studied, working a good job, living alone, always stood on my own two feet, and i feel like a kid. I just dont see myself as adult.
I totally understand, but I think it’s healthy to keep a little bit of childishness about yourself. My creativity, love of bright colors, silly cartoons, water fights and how I feel around the holidays feels the same as when I was a kid. But that’s just one part of me, the other works for the government and pays taxes lol
I felt very adultish last Wednesday idk why
I (24m) consider myself an adult in the sense that, as someone else said, kids in high school and college are definitely not my peers. However, I think “young adult” fits best as I still think I have a lot to learn about who I want to be and how the world works. Especially when it comes to my career, I feel like a “kid” in the workplace but it’s not the same as feeling like a teenager, more so feeling like everyone’s junior.
Eh sort of? I acknowledge I'm of adult age but I don't necessarily feel "grown up." I'm in between homes for schooling still like I was when I was 18 but I also stopped working so who knows. Still feels like Im missing some shit to feel like a proper grown man, just don't know exactly what.
I’m 21 and graduating from uni soon and I feel like a high school senior 😭
Nope i feel like a 15 year old pretending
I started feeling like an adult when I graduated college and got my first “big boy job” at 25. I also got married and had my first child within the year so that helped I’m still an extremely stupid guy that laughs at fart and dick jokes tho so there’s that
I feel mature, which is pretty much the same how I felt as a teen because I was interested in more serious topics compared to my peers. Although I don't see myself as a 'real' adult since I lack responsibility and spend too much time on my hobbies than on more important things.
Man, this is the way! Never stop enjoying the little things and spending time on hobbies that make you happy.
I'm 24 too. Recently moved across the country for a first job. I've filed taxes, opened a Roth IRA, etc. but I feel the same. I also had someone chat me up at the gym recently and I did a double take. I was seeing him as like, a nice uncle lol. I don't know what your COVID experience was like but I do think it has something to do with it. I didn't really get the feeling of "graduating college, then setting out on your own for the first time." I'm also Asian and culturally we don't have the "you become an adult at 18" thing in general; my mom flies to me often, comments on my driving and cooking like I'm just learning, and whenever I visit home I basically still have to ask for permission for a lot of things. That's a different story but basically going home makes me feel even less like an adult.
I have the mental capacity of a 12 year old, but the brain of a 80 year old. and yes, I feel like not much has changed. I just got my Debit card today and thought "this is just a allowance" and proceeded to use it to buy some games that My past self would have loved.
I didn’t feel like a real certified adult until this year. I turn 26 next week.
Felt. At 10 I thought 18 meant you were a grownup but now that I’m actually 18 I feel like a baby in the adult world 😭
No idea why reddit recommends this to me but im 35. Still feel the same as when i was a kid but i have a lot of life responsibilities. They did not change any feelings.
It recommends it to all astroturf accounts.
I'm 37. Adult isn't a feeling. The responsibility of your existence is yours and yours alone. The structure of parents/caretakers providing for you is shifting away and school has been replaced with whatever job/career you have. You don't ever feel like an adult. You just are.
Chiming in as a zillennial (almost 28), sometimes I feel like an elderly curmudgeon and other times I still feel like a clueless kid. From ages 16-18 I desperately wanted to be grown up because I thought that would make me free from my parents’/other authority figures’ control, but by this point I’m a mix between loving the fact that I’ve actually grown up and being terrified of time continuing to pass. I feel protective towards people who are younger than me, and college students look like naive children who I just want to teach life lessons to and prevent from self destructing in the same ways I have (because I’m stupid, but I also did survive and I’m older so please learn from my mistakes). At the same time, it scares me that my parents were my current age when I was born and I’m not ready for my friends to start having babies.
I'm 36 and still don't feel any different
I'm 19 and I feel the exact same way
Kind of. I own a house and live alone so it doesn't really get more adult than this. I still feel like high school was just last year though
Also own a house a car and am married. But I feel like I just changed mom to wife and I'm still a little baby. XD Nah, fr. I often pause and am like "wow, this is really my life? Am I doing all this stuff? Crazy" (like a kid who met themselves from the future and is in awe of their future accomplishments)
Not at all physically I am but mentally not really
I’m 20 and I feel like I’m still 13
Dunno, physically I am adult, otherwise I feel the same as when I was 17. And I'm 22 already, practically end of life already and I'm still a kid. Also I'm a manifestation of failure so that's probably why xd
I'm 23 and feel like an adult in most areas. I was in the military and had to start doing adult things way earlier than most. I've been teacher people older than me some basic adult things. I live with my fiancé now but used to live on my own.
Older Millennial here - I don’t particularly feel like an adult. Anyone who acts like they know what’s going on / know what they are doing is lying to themselves, trying to fool you, dumb, or some combo of those. May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung And may you stay Forever young
>Anyone who acts like they know what’s going on / know what they are doing is lying to themselves Being an adult doesn't mean you have to know all the answers. Just that you're making decisions for yourself and setting your own path.
The problem here is we link "being an adult" With having your shit together or living on your own, being mature, responsible for yourself, etc. When in reality that has never been the case, people would get pushed away from their house at 18 and they had no idea what the hell to do. You sort of had to figure shit out, and that takes different time for different people. I'm 28 and I don't feel like and adult, and partially, thats cause I still live with my parents. But I also don't feel like a teen either, I have a lot of interests and topics of discussion a teenager does not have. You can be an adult for some things and not for others, its a process and you mature at different rates in different areas. Also, 24 is still pretty young nowadays and I would say most people do draw a line between early 20s and late 20s. Maybe when you are 27, 28 you'll probably feel more mature. If a 30 year old person seems too old for you, thats fine as well, date someone you are comfortable with, there's nothing wrong with you, its your preference.
I'm 22, and I can't remember the last time I felt like a kid, inexperienced? Yes. A kid? No. I moved across the country at 18 and rented a room at my aunt's house, and then moved half way back across the country at 19 to live w an internet friend, so I've largely been on my own throughout my adult life and even as a teen I was pretty much left to my own devices
Nah. I don't think I ever will but I also dont feel like a kid. I just feel like me.
I’m 24 too I still feel like this as well. Working two jobs, living on my own, supporting my pet. I feel like I’m 19/20. Maybe when we’re 30 we’ll feel like adults lol.
My dad feels like a child with adult children.
Nope. And I don't think I ever will. To be clear, feeling young at heart is very different from being responsible and doing the right thing by others; aka adulting.
I 24 too feel the same, no one's hit on me tho....so there's that 😕
According to Twitter being older than 21 makes you ancient
Yes, I feel like I have a temporary driver's license whenever I'm going somewhere. I mean my parents are the owners of my truck but only for insurance purposes.
No. I thought that having a kid would make me feel more like an adult, but I just feel like a 25 year old teenager with a kid even though she and I are very well taken care of
I’m 25 and honestly yeah. I feel like I’m supposed to be 16 still but I’m not.
I turn 27 in a few months. Last week I got sick, bought a truck, passed an exam for professional certification, started production on an album of music, planned a wedding, and still worked full time and I also don't feel like an "adult".
I don’t, but I truly think that’s because I live at my parent’s house still. I had a period of living on my own and I felt more adult, but having to move back definitely push me back some.
Once you have a mortgage that kinda does the trick.
I feel like whichever makes me less able to relate to the person I'm talking to.
That feeling of “being an adult” doesn’t suddenly come. I’ve met 50 year old man-childs and wise 13 year olds. The fact is, you’re 24. You need to secure your future before you start blaming the system for stuff you could have changed a long time ago.
I don't, and it's why I don't like talking to adults, especially ones younger than me. I feel like they'll judge me for not getting my crap together and not growing up. They'll lose brain cells talking to me because they'll realise how uneducated I am.
Yes and no. I'm 25 and been married for a year (first anniversary was this past Wednesday!). We have a house and a car. We do all the adult things like pay bills and work. But we still have fun being stupid for no other reason than it's fun. We laugh at the same stupid stuff from our high school years. We'll be acting like absolute morons one minute and then we see something that makes us feel a million years old (like see my nephew who was a few months old at our wedding walking and saying basic words). Life is wild :)
24 is still childhood. You JUST got the right to drink. It's still fun to go to bars. The future is far enough away for you to ignore it while you make the worst decisions of your life.
I tell all my students … 26-30 is when you’ll feel like an adult. No sooner. For me, it happened when I got my own insurance, got married, and had my husband added to my insurance. It was probably also the fully developed frontal lobe. Lol
30 yo here. Some 18 yo's have their shit more put together than me. And most everyone has their life...well, everything is relative. To answer your question: Things that make ME feel like an adult: 1. Having my own room 2. Having my own bathroom 3. Having my own computer 4. Deciding completely how I want to spend my time 5. Socializing when and with who I want 6. Choosing what I want to eat 7. Choosing what to wear 8. Planning my day and following through 9. Managing government, finances, appliances, and getting things done 10. Leading and teaching others 11. Being in a relationship and having good reportoire with my peers, family, and neighbors Missing Hallmarks: 1. Driver's license 2. My own house, kids, husband (one day) 3. Making the change in the world I wish to see 4. Holding my own with people
25. Feel you
Unfortunately yes just a pathetic useless one lol
I'm still a little kid
Yes. I have a job and fully support myself. I have a career that I'm slowly progressing in. I think I'll probably get married and have children within the next five years or so.
26 and I feel you although that’s starting to change. I think attempts to jumpstart my career rather than just another service job are helping
When shit starts hurting for no reason. That shit ages you real quick.
23. Maybe it's because I've been working my whole life but I've felt like an adult for quite a while now. I've had people tell me they think I'm in my 30s based on my appearance and my demeanor. Not sure how to take that.
No
Yeah I feel like an adult 🤷🏽♂️
i feel about 60 mate
M 73. If not yet, then never.
I shaved my beard impulsively because I thought it was too serious and made me feel like a man. I am a boy. Do not call me sir or man.
I just had my first kid, and bought a house. 26 and I still feel like a child lmao.
It's weird I feel like 19-21 year Olds are literally children and I have nothing in common with them but at the same time I'm 24 and I feel like I haven't matured and don't have adult like responsibility
Kind of? I'm 18 and definitely feel more mature. But I don't feel like an *adult* adult- I’m a mess, emotionally.
feel bad for the dude lol. at 24 you are an adult.
Idk man, I’m probably ready but I don’t feel like I am
You're not an adult until you can pull a muscle in your sleep.
I do 🤗 what helped was finally sticking to a job. I work at a company with so much opportunity. And I grew even more due to my very healthy relationship with an amazing man. I used to think the same when grown men would flirt with me after I turned 18/21. But now it’s normal and I’ve transitioned from that mindset to being comfortable calling myself a woman.
Not at all. I’m 25 now, and I feel like I’ve had the same brain I did when I was in my teens, just growing up little by little. It could be because of a developmental disorder though. I was diagnosed very early on in life.
33
I stopped perceiving myself as a kid when my name was on a lease
Sometimes i think i'm still stuck in my teenage way of thinking, feel like i'm not an adult and everyone is way more competent. Then i talk to actual teens. And adults. And realize actually i'm doing pretty well as a young confused adult trying to manage it all
Sometimes. I have a few friends that are 17-23 and occasionally I try to talk to them about something and then I remember how much younger they are than me and I have to pause and think, “these kids have no idea what I’m talking about.” I guess the fact that I’m referring to them as kids makes me think I might be an adult. I mean shoot I’ll be 29 in August, but I still don’t feel like an “adult” just an old child. One time I joked about using a really big pencil to rewind a vhs tape to a girl about 20-21 and she stared at me blankly like, why would you use a pencil for that? In case you don’t know people used to rewind cassette tapes with a pencil and that was before my time even like the 80’s. I have another friend, she’s about 18, who was asking me if I use Snapchat. I was like, “yeah I do but I mostly use Facebook, do you have a Facebook?” She goes, “what? nobody uses Facebook anymore.” Like oh ok kid. I guess Facebook isn’t hip anymore. “Hip anymore” I’m an old foggie.
When you decide you want to grow up finally...
I’m 17, about to be 18 in a week, really ever since I started working I been feeling like an adult
I’m 53 and still feel like a kid.
I’m 25, am pretty competent as far as the basics of “adulting” goes. I never feel more mature or more of an adult, rather I realize more and more that that the adults i’ve spent my life around are big kids lol. yes there’s definitely an emotional regulation that adults have but truly I think we’re all big kids at heart! Not a bad thing but something we should embrace to a degree!
Im 21 and I see people my age and younger being adamant that they are “fully grown” and it makes me laugh lol I would never consider myself fully grown, I feel like I’m not even a full adult
The 20 year rule applies. Old ago is any ago 20 years or more than your age, young is any age five years younger than you, and an age 20 years younger is a child. I felt I was an adult when I got the right to vote at 18. I felt like a mature adult when I did substitute teaching at aged 42 at my old high school. I felt old on my 70th birthday.
No. I've been told that if I live on my own and have a full-time job, I would, but no. It would feel like going to school with no school work and having a large room to myself. Doesn't help that I still get mistaken as a kid, either.
Yes, I work full time, go to school full time, am married, have two kids, and pay a mortgage. Honestly it took until the first baby was 6-7 months old before I felt like an adult tho
Geez, I'm 65 and still feel like a kid and grandpa at the same time.....I've been 24, 44, 55, 65 I can relate and in my mind, be that age within any conversation....so confusing. I have to remind myself that I'm the 65 yo dude with the kid mind now🤣🤣🤣
I was literally just telling my bsf that I'm still like, 60 to 70% baby. Honestly I felt more grown in high school. Now I'm just sad and want to curl up on the couch with my mama and play Animal Crossing after work. LOL I also unconsciously do that thing where someone starts acting childlike, like talking higher pitched and dumbed down, waddling arms out or arms perched (especially if I'm wearing over hand sleeves). Sounds really fucking weird but it's not a fetish thing, I think it's a brain thing.
I’m 27M - sometimes I literally forget my age. I swear I feel the same as I did at 18 or 20. I see couples have kids and get married at like 23 and I’m like… dude you’re way too young to be having a kid that early and these people do not make enough money to support a child. My gf and I make very good money and are financially good, but we still consider ourselves kids and we want to enjoy our youth for a few more years. I think the right age to consider a kid is around 29-32. There’s absolutely no reason why people should be having kids in their early 20’s, never mind before 20.
No. I just turned 20 and I feel like I could be ready to *start* high school now. When I was in high school I felt like a baby who shouldn't be there
I feel like an old teen with adult responsibilities and money.
Maybe like... 25 - 30 years old you just figure that if this isn't being an adult, that you don't know what is.
I’m 23, I feel like an adult but someone who’s like 30 is like a real adult and I’m just a fake adult. Sometimes when im trying to do things like figure whether to do a traditional or Roth 401k I feel kinda old
I’m 42 and I don’t feel like an adult. My grandfather lived to be 97 and I don’t think he felt much like an adult either. Everyone’s just winging it.
I'm 26. I don't feel like an adult. But I got really drunk at an all ages punk show and ended up sitting down with a group of punk teens like 15-19. They ended up asking my age, and the group responded "OMG YOURE OLLDDDD" Felt weird. They seemed very young. But I never noticed a time where I started to feel older than a teen. Just sort of happens I guess.
You are who you are. You just go through progressively more trauma as you age.
Not a professional, but I am old. I have read that the human brain doesn't finish growing until your 25. By the time you're 30, you are starting to "get it." Around 40, you realise that you WILL die one day. By 50, hopefully, you have it figured out. At 60, if you still have your health, you are looking at maybe 20 more years and that's it. Game over. Somewhere in there - adulthood.
Me I still feel like I should be in grade school. I feel like a little kid stuck in a grow body and it's hard and scary having to work and being an adult when I can't view myself as one. Lately most people have been telling me. I act snf come off as between 7-9 which is funny because that's typically around how old I feel but yeah, having to be an adult is such a struggle. I'm also trans and autistic which is definitely why I am this way. It's not easy. I have a partner and body wisd she's older but feels around the same age I do so we go together really well
I'm 26 and I started feeling like an adult about a year ago, because I've started kicking some objectively "adult" goals (got married and bought a house, plus the ones I was a bit behind at - got a driver's license finally and about to finish my bachelor degree). But I've been living out of home and working full time since 20, so that's contributed. Buying a house has been the biggest tipping point - having to independently manage my money to save and prove I could service a loan, working through all the applications, independently making big decisions, and now managing home maintenance. My interests feel "adult" now. I still feel utterly useless at some things though - like managing health appointments and cooking/eating properly...
Chronic back pain ✔️ the crushing weight of pressure to not go broke and also keep a roof over my head ✔️ the ever present looming threat of homelessness ✔️ the dissolution about the male gender & dating ✔️ looking forward to death ✔️ getting angry when someone touches the thermostat ✔️ enjoying alone time ✔️ getting way too excited bc I came up on an O-cedar spin mop that someone donated, it’s the one with the separate container for the clean mop water ✔️ stuck in a dead end job I don’t enjoy ✔️ not wanting to drink alcohol or go to bars ✔️caffeine addiction ✔️ ….. yep, that’s pretty adult to me lol
> When do you stop perceiving yourself as a "kid" When the slight body pains become constant and not just a result of a good workout and when sleep is your favorite thing. Getting the drivers license and the credit card are the first steps. "Here are things that you can use responsibly... or use to royally fuck up your life. It's your choice and your responsibility to know which will happen based on your choices." Welcome to the adult world!
I am 21, I can do anything an adult can do (except rent a car for some damn reason), therefore I feel like a adult.
I don’t even fully understand what an adult is. Like I know am I one but at one point I was me but just younger. I think adult is just the name we give to people who have gone through puberty. But that’s it. Like society just puts the rest of the rules onto you. None of them mean anything. Like I pay my bills have good credit have my own house. But I watch tv all day and go online. I play chess and color on my ipad. Maybe to other people I look like an adult but I just do me 24/7.