Adulting

Adulting is... interesting. You have so much freedom and get to make all decisions on your own, but then you have a bunch of other responsibilities. It's not just about turning 18, or moving out of your parent's place, because it's truly about all of the steps as a whole. Sometimes it feels extremely overwhelming. Keeping up with cooking, laundry, dishes, cleaning, jobs, pets (if you have any), kids (if you have any), and other outside commitments and plans. I bet you didn't even notice that I didn't include relaxation, which is also important for that list or else you go crazy. 

I will be the first to admit that we (my husband an I) do not have this all figured out. I feel like the only thing we have nailed down is cooking. Each weekend, we plan out all of our meals for the following week plus anything else we need at home from the store. Then we go shopping, and we stick to the meal plan 95% of the time, unless one of us isn't feeling well or we need to switch some things around. 

With each passing year, I realize how much I don't want to dedicate my life to a job. Spending a majority of my time at a job... it just boggles my mind that we spend so much of our time at work. Whoever decided as these hours as the standard... kind of messed up. I look forward to the day where I, hopefully, won't really need to do this ever again. 

For now, at least, I will continue with the 40-hour work weeks, the chores coming at me left and right, and trying to relax without thinking about it all. Isn't most everyone's dream to never have to lift a finger again? 

The TV show, 'The Good Place,' describes this perfectly. At one point, the characters are basically in heaven and realize that too much of a good thing isn't actually that great. Obviously, real heaven will be great. But as humans, we oftentimes long for no work, endless vacations, getting everything we want... paradise. But, if everything is always perfect... then you'd get tired of it. Imagine a TVs how or a movie where the entirety of it is perfect. You'd hate watching them, because conflict or struggle of some kind is crucial for interesting and fun entertainment. 

Looking back on things in my life, including many things in this blog, I cringe. Now, people may be like "Oh, but this thing was so good!" Okay, and? Because you grow as a person and you grow as a writer, in this instance, you aren't always going to love what you've done previously.  Some things I used to be proud of five years ago are things I cringe at now, because, objectively, they don't match my standards now. And that's okay. That's normal. That's like looking back at photos and thinking "What on earth was I wearing?" because you don't like it now, but it was great back then. 

Growing is a funny thing. Some people become a completely different person between 15 years old and 20 years old. That's just five years, and that's insane. We are designed to change and grow. 

Also, it's interesting how much chaos ensues between about 18 and 25, depending on life circumstances. An 18-year-old can go through everything a 25-year-old typically goes through, it just depends on the stage they're in. And it feels like it's all just thrown at you. It's like the world is saying, "Dive into the deep end and learn how to swim. Have fun!" 

So, I must embrace the adulting. I must embrace the fun that is bills, schedules, working, and just trying to survive. 

~ The Inspired One