Being an Adult Sucks

[V4Viewtiful]

I understand now why the Bible left out Jesus's Teen years. Adolescence suck.

Being an adult ain't all that great (politics, bills, maintaining a livable lifestyle), but I wouldn't go back to that. Teenagers in general suck anyway.

Now if you asked me if I wanted to be 10 or 8 again I'd jump

 

[IamLEAM1983]

I'm 32 years old, but I've always considered myself as a teenager that's been frozen in time. My knowledge base has expanded over the years and I can handle more responsibilities, but I'm still fundamentally the same kid who used to listen to "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" on a loop. My dreams of being a teacher haven't panned out so far, but that hasn't stopped me from spending time with kids and teenagers, with whom I've always felt a sort of kinship. I can still think like a kid and I still can figure out what matters to a kid. I don't think I'll turn into one of those adults who are desperately trying to stay hip - I can just coast along and observe what's trending. I don't have to adopt it, but I can take note of it.

Long story short, some of my younger cousins think I'm the coolest adult they know. I do plenty of adult stuff, but I know my way around several popular games. I know my metabolism can't put up with truckloads of sugary shit anymore, but I do allow myself one sloppy Domino's pizza every two weeks, after putting up with exercise tapes, self-imposed diets and supposedly "tasty" kale-based smoothies.

The way I see it, the adult-related morass we have to push through is a decent price to pay for the gigantic amounts of freedom we've earned. I'd love being able to shovel danishes and pie slices and not gain a pound like I used to and I'd love to still have that illicit twinge of pleasure on snow days or when my parents figured out I was too exhausted to drag my ass to school. The problem is I have bills to pay and my own damn mouth to feed, and my budget couldn't survive on a constant stream of restaurant outings. On the flipside, having my own address means I can order stuff I'd feel mildly shy about ordering in, like DVD box sets of some of the guilty-pleasure TV shows I used to watch.

Yes, the needs of a clean apartment are keeping me away from weekends entirely devoted to geekdom, but I don't mind paying that price. If I don't, then I get more time to spend gaming or binge-watching shows on Netflix; but I have to live with six inches of dust on everything. I'm not willing to sacrifice cleanliness and easy breathing for more fun.

Being an adult means you have more choices. You can choose to harm yourself by going for immediate and constant gratification, or you can put your inner kid aside for a few hours - at least long enough so you can go back to your leisure hours without feeling guilty about it.

 

[The Choke]

I understand now why the Bible left out Jesus's Teen years. Adolescence suck.

Christopher Moore didn't. http://www.chrismoore.com/books/lamb/

 

[V4Viewtiful]

I understand now why the Bible left out Jesus's Teen years. Adolescence suck.

Christopher Moore didn't. http://www.chrismoore.com/books/lamb/

So what your saying is, we've finally found Jesus?

 

[The Choke]

I understand now why the Bible left out Jesus's Teen years. Adolescence suck.

Christopher Moore didn't. http://www.chrismoore.com/books/lamb/

So what your saying is, we've finally found Jesus?

At the very least, we've come closer to understanding where he learned kung fu.

 

[Shiftygiant]

I'm teetering on the edge. About to go to University but at the same time having responsibility suddenly forced upon me. A strange issue of going from having very little responsibilities from Birth-16, and now for the last couple of years they have suddenly all rushed me at once. It's overwhelming really.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

It sucks in some areas and it's good in others. So focus on the good stuff. Of course, even that's relative to your circumstances. Same can be said about childhood and teenage years. Personally, I had a great childhood but not so great adolescent life. I don't look back like it's a time long gone though. I cherish the memories but I look forward to what comes next. There's so much more to being an adult if you try not to let the bad and boring parts of it consume your thoughts.

I'm teetering on the edge. About to go to University but at the same time having responsibility suddenly forced upon me. A strange issue of going from having very little responsibilities from Birth-16, and now for the last couple of years they have suddenly all rushed me at once. It's overwhelming really.

It seemed that way to me too. But it's not really that difficult. You can get the hang of most things in less than a year. Writing down responsibilities and figuring out the most efficient way of dealing with them helps a lot.

 

[CrystalViolet]

-snip-

I was given between 4 months and 2 years to live when I was 15. I'm now 27 so I'm still getting used to the novelty of all the still being alive and stuff

I love being an adult. I make all my own decisions and do what I want. I couldn't possibly go back to being dependent on another person.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I could throw these kind of questions at you all day but I won't waste more of your time. =P

It's kind of hilarious how you can get through 20+ years of education without anybody teaching you the very basics of cars, houses, bills, debt, and so on.

Indeed, but we do know the dates and names of all the important historical figures.
That's vital, you know.

Ok, it can be good to know your history, but I feel the emphasis is slightly skewed.
Not to mention Real Adult Life lessons that you miss out on.
Which I can't name because I don't know them.
How am I suppose to know what I don't know?
Heh.

Captcha: "Hard Captcha is hard." Ok, it's definitely sentient now. It's even referring to itself!

 

[RavingSturm]

Being an adult is great! you dont have to swallow other people's bullshit because as a child you had really no choice but to put up with it.

 

[Starbird]

You know, it seems like an obvious thing...but being an adult really sucks. Seriously, ever since I passed that magical "adult" threshold, it just been a long streak of "Wait, can I go back? This kind of blows."

College wasn't bad; it was a simple time. Go to class. Learn things. Pay reasonable bills (phone, room and board etc.). Enjoy free time doing whatever because no one around will judge (since they're all college students or staff themselves).

But afterwards?

"Here is a whole bunch of responsibility. Also you get nothing in return for accepting these responsibilities. Also, accepting these responsibilities is mandatory. And a lot of the things you did for fun/entertainment are now considered "inappropriate" for various random and nonsensical reasons, so have fun either being looked at as weird or bored out of your mind. BTW, we're going to make those "reasonable" bills from before a lot more unreasonable really, really fast. Have fun!"

Maybe its just because so many of the things that become "available" when you get to "adult" are pointless or useless to me that it sucks because I already had what I needed/wanted.

"That is just what it means to be an adult."

Well, then why does being an adult have to suck?

I agree - to an extent.

When I turned 30 and realized my childhood was done with and that what my life was was definitely not the fantasy I had had when I was younger I was more than a bit miffed.

Bills suck. Jobs suck. Realizing you are too old to change jobs sucks. Being alone at 30 while all your friends are getting married sucks. Seeing your body start to go south and the first hints of grey in your eyebrows and beard sucks.

That said, I can:
- eat when I want.
- eat what I want.
- do what I want.
- buy what I want (within reason).
- go to bed when I want.
- go where I want.

This gives me a lot of freedom to be my own man, have my own adventures and do the stuff I always wanted to as a kid.

Age appropriate: bah. I couldn't give a crap. Just finished working my way through the Batman and Justice League animated series (the latter still holds up pretty damn well actually). I have 30-40 year old friends who collect plushies and action figures. We all love the Marvel flicks.

 

[Starbird]

Being an adult is great! you dont have to swallow other people's bullshit because as a child you had really no choice but to put up with it.

Evidently you are self employed . Bosses suck worse than parents ever did.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Being an adult is great! you dont have to swallow other people's bullshit because as a child you had really no choice but to put up with it.

Evidently you are self employed . Bosses suck worse than parents ever did.

But you can go look for another job if you dont like your boss. You cant go looking for another parent.

 

[Joccaren]

I see my parent's genius in raising me now.

By making my childhood George Orwell's wet dream in surveillance and crackdown on what I'm able to do, getting to be an adult and actually being in control of everything is great. I don't have to do things arbitrarily because people tell me to. I don't have to pray and beg for money, or work because "Its a family obligation" for no pay - If I want money, I go out and work, and if I work, I get payed for it. The food is cooked when I want, and its actually cooked well instead of being charcoal because mum decided she'd rather watch TV then check on dinner. Additionally, the food bought is relevant to my tastes, rather than whatever random crap mother saw on the shelf and decided would be interesting to try.

I find most of the responsibilities are things I was already doing anyway, just now I have freedom in how I do them, and which I do. Budgeting, working, shopping, cooking, transporting myself - all things I was already doing.

I feel for you with the extra responsibility if you weren't prepared for it, but I'm loving the freedom I get as an adult. Its refreshing compared to my earlier life.

 

[FateWitch13]

My biggest problems used to be "what do you MEAN you've never heard Type O Negative?!?" and "if you want to go out, you better sneak because your father will actually murder you."

All my new problems are just heightened high school.

-Friends! Guess what? As you get older, so do they so watch that social circle dwindle as they move on to kids, marriage and "maturity".

-Work! You are responsible for completing all of these things but instead of getting a grade and praise, you get a boss who refuses to notice how many days you've worked in a row or how you're the only one who ever answers when someone calls in. Also a paycheck that is awesome for the first couple days, should make you proud you have a roof but just represents how much of your life you have budgeted for said roof.

-Responsibility! You aren't just getting grounded anymore if you screw up! How about sued?

-Money! Yeah I was broke in High School, who wasn't? Maybe mom would throw you some cash or you had a part time job but you could afford the things you wanted more or less. Now? Oh no, madame, there is always a bill. And you will always forget one. If you put things on auto pay, they will overdraw your account due to the mystical power of "should come out this date, but didn't cuz reasons".

-Love! In High School you think dating is everything because that's what you were told your whole life. find your soulmate. find your love. Kill or die for each other. All love is a rock ballad. Now? Please. All anyone wants is someone who will get off the damn couch and help you earn that damn paycheck so you can put your bills on autopay so they can overdraft your account.

-Family! Before it was, "it's okay to make some mistakes, that's life." Now it's, "yeah that really is a problem, I can't believe you don't know these basic life things about how bad mistakes are and how much they can destroy your life now that you are financially responsible!"

Also, never forget, kiddies, High School never stops. They tell you "high school ends, you will never see these people again, it will all be over soon." LIES! It just becomes the workplace. It doesn't matter how old your co-workers are either. Don't believe me? Watch how mature someone is when their schedule gets changed or when someone else leaves their workstation a mess. The popularity contest never ends and no one wins forever. Gossip never stops. Sometimes, all it takes is a missing stapler to make you the Satan or Wherever Co. It's all petty. It never gets better. Maturity is when you stop saying "it's not fair" and you start saying "I will survive".

 

[jklinders]

Being an adult is awesome. Maybe you are not processing the whole thing correctly or maybe your home situation as a kid was super comfortable or something but when I was 18 I couldn't wait to move out. Living in a single room in a rooming house was preferable because i could do so on my own terms. lemme get this straight, I was not in an abusive situation, but my parents were getting older and my stepmom in particular wanted me out. I went through a couple of lean years but I would not trade them in for more time spent at home. It was all part of a learning experience for me.

I live on my terms, use my time like I want to and answer to no one but myself. I cannot comprehend why anyone would want to go back to being beholden to another the way you typically are as a child once you have tasted freedom. I would not trade something as important to me as personal freedom for something as cheap as comfort.

 

[Jamieson 90]

There are pros and cons to being a child.

pros:
Innocence.
No responsibility.
Few consequences.
More free time.
Seemingly endless amounts of energy.
Fewer standards and expectations - you can do weird things and it's okay because you're a kid.

Cons:
No freedom or autonomy; your parents decide what you do, how you do it, when you do it and what you wear while you're doing it. And yes that includes curfews and bedtimes.
School, homework and chores.
No money.
You can be punished, this could be anything from having your possessions taken off you to a spanking depending on your parents and what's legal where you live, which really, really sucks. It's not okay for adults to hit one another but a parent can totally smack their child.
Bullies; if you harass or bully someone as an adult you can go to jail, yet the worse that might happen to a child is a good telling off or maybe even a suspension from school, but most likely nothing at all, and bullies can be cruel, really cruel.
Puberty sucks big time.
You're restricted by age restrictions on pretty much everything. So no alcohol, gambling, voting, sex, smoking, rated movies/games and so on....

Now when you become an adult you get rid of age restrictions and parental authority, so you can do more things and can't be punished by your parents anymore, although you trade this off for the law, but it's still better because you can't be assaulted anymore and people need a court order to remove your belongings, and that's only if you get into debt. You're also better protected from bullies too and no longer have to go to school, yes there is work but at least you're being paid for it.

As for freedom and autonomy, yes technically you have more. You can now decide what to wear and how you want to do things, but money plays a massive part in how much freedom you actually have, and this I believe is probably the most important factor in determining how much you will enjoy adult life. Money lets you do all those things you wanted to do as a child, without it you've traded some of the pros and cons of childhood with some of the pros and cons of adulthood, only you've way more responsibilities and less free time.

So adulthood can be good or bad, it depends on how much money (freedom), you have and how willing you are to do things without caring what other people think.

 

[Summerstorm]

Being an adult isn't the problem. It's the damn pressure and sorrow and all those concerns and fears you now carry alone - which you don't have as a child/teenager - Those problems which were carried FOR you before (Mostly by your parents and the state)

(I had a huge text here, but i think this was all i had to say without ranting incoherently about my life and my observations about people for like two pages or so...)

 

[Dwarfman]

Snip

Well first of all. I like your avatar.

Second? Welcome to the real world my child; Where every day feels like the ending to Mass Effect 3. Before the free DLC

Okay I have two quotes for you. And one of them is by Doctor Who... "What's the point of being an adult if you can't be childish once in awhile" and " Hell is Earth. Heaven is what you make of it". So what do I mean by this?

Well for starters who ever tells you that your hobbies or interests are considered too childish can go take a leap off a cliff. My boss is in his mid fifties and he has a train set for fucks sake. Yes you have responsibilities. Yes it may seem you don't get rewarded for these responsibilities which is bollocks but I digress. The point is is you are now free within the confines of the law of your land to do whatever the heck you wish!

Also. Well yes being an adult sucks. But being a kid used to suck too. Not to mention I seem to recall being a teenager sucked as well. Life SUCKS! But nonetheless here you are. And unless you wish to hasten yourself unto your maker's presence uninvited I would say here you stay. So make the best of it! You say that everything adult is useless or uninteresting to you? Are you sure? Have you looked around? Check things out! Discover stuff! You never know, you might find something. Sure in the end you will have to give up some of your childhood, but what you may give up will be replaced by other things as your life continues.

 

[Starbird]

Friends! Guess what? As you get older, so do they so watch that social circle dwindle as they move on to kids, marriage and "maturity".

Oh yeah...all this and a bag of squid jerky. 10 years ago I had more friends than I could shake a beer at. 5 years ago I still had more to do with people than I wanted to do with them. Now...my last real friend is about to leave the country.