Does anyone else sometimes feel like they're just floating around pretending to be a grown-up? A toddler, dressed in an oversized trench coat, sitting on someone's shoulders?
You see, at some point in your life you suddenly find yourself doing your taxes, getting a mortgage, looking after small people who always want to be around you (?), and shopping for dinner but buying yourself lots of little treats instead — and IS THIS ALLOWED? Is someone supposed to be monitoring how I'm adulting? No. CAN SOMEONE CALL MUM.
Watch: Here are all the things you hated as a kid but love as an adult. Post continues below.
It seems like other people have picked up on this reality too, because The Cut recently posted this interesting piece, on adulthood being a total mirage. How we're all just kind of cosplaying adulthood and hoping for the best.
It asks, who and where are the real adults? Respectfully, we have no idea. But please. What we do know is that there are little moments in time that make you feel like you're an adult. Little glitches where you actually feel like you've (maybe) got your s**t together and you really do know what you're doing. Sometimes.
So I've developed a checklist no one asked for. I asked the Mamamia team to tell me the very thing that makes them feel like an adult.
1. Buying a new car.
"Buying a new car that hadn't been owned by anyone else before. It was the most money I'd spent on anything other than my mortgage but it felt more like an adulting move than buying a house!" — Claire.
2. Going to the vet.
"Taking my dog to the vet. I look around for the adult making the decisions and realise it’s me." — Talissa.
3. Separating the whites when washing.
"Whenever I make the conscious decision to not make my white clothing pink and separate the colours from the whites, I feel like I'm an adult got my life together." — Erin.
4. Calling roadside.
"When I call roadside assistance and I'm not in tears." — Maddie.
5. Having household supplies stocked up.
"Mine is when I run out of a household item, like kitchen roll or washing up liquid, and I already have the next one stocked in the cupboard ready to go." — Polly.
6. Seeing school kids on an excursion.
"When I walk past a group of school kids out on an excursion and I remember being their age and looking around in amazement at all the adults in their adult clothes going to their big adult jobs and then I realise I'm now that person to them." — Issy.
7. Making an appointment.
"Whenever I call the doctor to make an appointment without asking my mum to do it." — Ash.
8. Taking the bins out.
"I always feel like an adult when I take the rubbish out. It feels like I'm carrying the entire household." — Erin.
9. Prioritising laundry day.
"I feel like an adult when the first thing I think of when it's a nice day is not, 'this is a great day for the beach' but 'this is a great day to do my laundry'." — Maddie.
10. Any kind of basic car maintenance.
"When I fill up the water in my car wipers or do anything remotely car-maintenance-related. She's an adult." — Erin.
Want to hear more from Erin Docherty? Follow her on Instagram. But not on TikTok — she's waaaay too much of an adult for that.
What are some things that make you feel like you're an adult? Share with us in the comment section below.
Feature image: Getty
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