It has finally hit me. I no longer am that young, college kid anymore. Oh I know it has been almost 2 years since I have graduated from the great University of Illinois - but for a while I still felt like I could do it. I could live, party, eat like a college student and get by working that 8-5 job during the week.
Well I can't and reality is starting to hit me in the face that I may be becoming AN ADULT (yes everyone gasp with me). Here are a few examples as to how I figured this out over the last 2 years:
Recovery Period
The time between partying and resting has gotten bigger. I feel like I need more days to get over the weekend festivities. When I was in college, my recoup period was less than a day. Give me a few hours and I would be right back on track. However, now when Monday comes around I am wishing that I had another day to the weekend. This isnt college anymore where I could sleep in, take naps during the day, skip class if I felt I didnt need to go and get some more rest... this is real life! AND when it is the weekend, my body is so used to waking up early during the week that I rarely sleep in like the old days - I am up at the crack of dawn trying to figure out what I am going to do with my day. Oh the days of naps... how I long for thee.
Money, money, money
In collge I was poor, but could afford to go out every night because the drink specials were ridiculous - 75 cent shots, $5 pitchers, $2 well drinks - it was amazing. Sometimes all you needed was a $20 bill and you were good for a few days! But it isnt even about the now-more-expensive $12 pitchers that we buy, but its life in general! Our apartments (at least at U of I) come furnished so there was never no need to buy furniture - who knew lamps and dressers could be so expensive?? Not only that, but lets kick in all the bills that come with being an adult. Phone bill, car payment, car insurance, rent and utlities, credit card, and the oh-so-hated student loans. College may have been some of the best 4 years of my life, but that is one expensive piece of paper that I purchased to get a job in this world. Oh well, 15 years from now I guess it will be worth it when I am done paying all that off... Who knew being an adult came with the constant writing of checks... note to those who will be looking to buy me a birthday present my check stash is getting pretty low! (and no I am not asking for you to write me a check, I literally will be looking for books of checks, I am down to about 1 book left and will be needing more. I love sports, outdoors, and girlie themes fyi.)
Jobs
This area is scary for anyone, but those of us just getting out of college and not truly knowing where we will end up with our degree are just plain freaked out. I mean not only is the job market so intensely competitive, but even knowing where to look for a job is stressful enough. And throw in health insurance? 401(k)!? BENEFITS!? None of these even existed when I was bartending at Fubar - I was just excited when I went home with straight up cash money from the night. Now I have to worry about putting money into savings for (another gasp) when I want to settle down and start a family, even protect myself in the future. Once you land a job though, the stress (somewhat) disappears - now you just have to keep that job especially in a market where layoffs are more common these days. If only there was someone on graduation day as we walked out with our diplomas giving us a guidebook on exactly what job we will hold, have all the forms filled out, and basically our life planned out for us... oh that would be sweet.
Food
I am an adult, and I am on my own. So this means eating like an adult. Going to the store, I tend to go for more fruits and veggies lately, and even catch myself buying more ingredients to make new dishes. As I am buying weekly, I realize that wow I sure dont eat out as much as I used to in college. There are no late night burger runs, 2am pizza deliveries because we have the drunk munchies, not even any afternoon McDonalds runs because I am hungover and that is all I am craving. I cant even tell you the last time I had "fast food" (side not - fast food I consider Burger King, McDonalds, Wendys... anything that has a drive thru and you dont need to get out of your car to consume a vast amount of food) I have taken to making my own food these days and this is one thing I have been quite enjoying. Yay for food!
Independence
We all admit to it, before we made any decisions about anything we always ran them by our parents to make sure we are going down the right path. Not even just that, but we always had our parents there to lean back on if we needed it. Random grocery store and Target runs while they visited us in college, home cooked meals when we went home on the weekends and holidays, bills that were paid for when we were home for the summer (because we did not have rent or utilities to cover). Ah the joys of going off for 9 months and being on our own, but then going back home to be taken care of. But what about when you realize that you arent that "I think I am an adult but still have my parents make my decisions for me" college kid anymoer and literally are now making your own decisions? For me, it was a transition that I got used to being so far away from home and literally having to decide everything myself out here in Colorado. But wow, I will say it is one intense feeling when you realized that you did it all on your own - independence baby!! That will send you into adulthood and out of college in no time!
Dating
Yes, I just had to throw something in here about this scene. Because well, its a topic that me and the girls love to talk about! But for this one it has more to do with figuring out the taken type from the single type. In college it was easy - if someone was taken they (usually) said something to you or you knew the person they were with. However, now that we arent surrounded by just 20-somethings we actually have to pay attention to the RING FINGER. The finger that says "hey, I got married and love my partner" kind of thing. It is a slap of reality when you realize that the first thing you notice on someone when you first meet them is "do they have a ring?" At least, I seem to notice I have been doing that more often.....
Now dont get me wrong, I am not complaining about not being in college anymore. I sure dont miss late night studying sessions, papers that were horrible to write, homework that just seemed to never end. And to be honest, there is nothing more satisfying than when you actually feel like an adult, like you have moved on in the world far from the ol' college days where we were young, naiive, immature, and just flatout broke.
But there are some things that I wish would carry over into the adulthood - all I am asking is that siestas in the afternoon should be a part of our work schedule.
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