Hey—you know when you hit adulthood and every day feels… not what you pictured? You thought you’d be thriving, inventing stuff, living your best life. And yes, that happens sometimes. But most days? It’s tiny dramas and surprises you never saw coming.
So let me just share what’s real—no filter, no fake gloss—just the stuff most textbooks skipped. Ready?
So, What About Adulting
1. The Never-Ending Conveyor Belt of Life
In school, a day’s hard? You get a break. Every year ends and you practically reset. As an adult? Not so much. Life doesn’t pause. There’s no start button—just looping to-dos, deadlines, bills, grown-up chores. No bells to tell you when to stop.
Seriously, that’s exhausting.
2. You’re the CEO of Your Life (But No Training Manual)
Remember thinking being an adult would make everything click? Spoiler: it doesn’t. There’s no “adult mode” that kicks in. You’re suddenly just… thrown into decisions. Mortgage, taxes, that weird squeak in the sink—you’re on your own.
You’re supposed to just know? No thanks.
3. Basic Life Skills: Not a Given Anymore
Surveys say nearly half of Gen Z adults feel totally unprepared for life’s dirty laundry—literally. Cooking, bills, mowing the lawn, wiping the oven—many didn’t learn this in school or at home. That’s why “Adulting 101” classes are trending.
Apparently I can pay rent but not roast a chicken? Honestly relatable.
4. Loneliness Sneaks Up on You
You lose touch, people move, life gets busy. Those easy neighborhood friendships aren’t automatic anymore. Adult friendships take effort—planning, nudging, calendars. And when isolation hits, it’s sharp.
Sometimes it just hits midnight, and you’re like, “I wish someone knew this felt hard.”
5. We’re All Bumbling Behind the Mask
No one has it together. Even your most competent colleague or your “adulted” friend—that person is usually thinking, I’m fake and they don’t know it. That’s part of growing up. We’re faking some things, learning others.
6. Life Doesn’t Stop Hitting You With Real Sh!t
You’re minding your business adulting, doing your taxes, and then—boom—car breaks down, plumbing explodes, a relationship sours. Adulthood is juggling unpredictable waves. You don’t get trained; you just learn by swimming—or flailing.
7. Toxic Perfectionism Is a Digital-Age Trap
Technology can trick us like crazy: perfect highlight reels, perfect lunches, perfect homes. We internalize that “looking perfect = feeling fine.” Reality? It’s a mental trap that sets you up to feel like you’re always falling short.
🤦♀️ Been there. Learned that shame is louder than an Instagram photo.
8. You Feel Guilty for Saying “No”—But You Shouldn’t
Turns out, saying no is a superpower. Society taught us to always agree, always be available. But that’s not sustainable. Setting tiny boundaries—like declining dinner plans or overschedules—takes practice, but slowly builds space for sanity.
No can be the softest self-care tool.
9. Your Twenties Were a Warm-Up Game (and They Still Can Be)
There’s still magic in the mess of your 20s. It’s chaotic, impulsive, uncertain—yet wildly formative. Cliché? Maybe. But accepting unpredictability might be the best gift adulting ever gave me. Am I stable? Meh. Am I learning? Mostly. That counts.
10. Emotional Baggage Travels with You (That’s Okay)
Chances are, childhood didn’t give you perfect validation. That unresolved “I need to do more” worry lingers—and adulthood doesn’t fix it. We end up people-pleasing or biting through self-doubt. Recognize it, name it, and let it soften.
You’re not broken. You’re human. Fully human.
Quick Life-Skills Cheat Sheet (That School Forgot to Teach Us)
- Doing laundry, cleaning, basic cooking
- Managing bills, budgeting, understanding debt
- First aid, fraud awareness, negotiation—basics for business and life
- Self-care, saying no, managing burnout
- Mental health awareness—ask for help when you need it
My Slightly Messy, Hugely Honest Take
Adulting isn’t this grand trophy ceremony. It’s more like—you wake up confused, you try not to burn the house down, you call your mom to ask how to fix the car, and you remind yourself that not having it together doesn’t mean you’re not growing.
So yeah—adulting is more struggle than meme—it’s exhausting, often thankless, and incredibly real. But also—you’ve got the power to sketch your own map. It’s messy, but it’s yours. And, oddly enough, that’s pretty powerful.
