As a college student, I cannot help but feel simultaneously excited and terrified of adulthood. I am aware that people would say that as a college student living on my own I am technically an adult, but I still don’t feel like one.
I think of this situation as the classic dog chasing a car analogy.
I am excited to get to this wonderful state of adulthood since the change is really interesting because of how new and different it is.
However, I figure that once I become an adult, I will simply not know what to do. I mean, right now I am still fortunate enough to depend on my parents while I am in school, which means that I don’t have to pay for a lot of things that “real” adults do like: phone, water, electricity, rent, loans, etc.
I can easily see myself being overwhelmed by these all these new payments and newfound responsibilities despite all the preparation leading up to that part of my life.
It does not help that at college, even at a school like Tech, you are not really prepared for having to pay bills, balance your check book, and many other typical adult tasks.
Then there is the chapter of life where raising a family becomes the norm and that just sounds scary at this point in time. I am very aware that it will take a lot of time for me to get to a state where I am comfortable having a family of my own.
I hope that the thought of forming a family too early is a scary thought for a lot of people here, because apparently everyone’s high school friends don’t have that same mindset.
Legally everyone is granted adulthood at the ripe age of 18.
It is weird to think that if I had been less fortunate I would not be here at Tech where I am able to set myself up for a better future.
I would probably still be in Tennessee going to a less than amazing state school , to make a recognizable attempt at preparing myself for a job.
Which is not to say that is a bad thing, as I am fully aware that any education is much better than none; but, for an aspiring electrical engineer, very few Tennessee state schools can compare to the investment of Tech.
I guess what I am trying to say is that at the age of 18 I was nowhere near ready for the responsibility that could have potentially been thrown on me.
Especially considering how many people agree that this magical transition to adulthood occurs when you have a job after sopme degree of schooling and finally get stable enough to settle down.
There are also those people who insist that everyone is truly a child at heart, which I certainly can relate with.
I like to think of this switch from adolescent to an adult as a very slow and likely painful process where the wallet cries, the body aches, and the mind decides that sleep is the best vacation.