Adulting

Remember when we were kids and we thought that 20s were grown-up years, to be moms and wives, because we saw that around us, and we thought people in their 30s had things sorted. They worked, had enough savings to start families and think about investments, cars and homes. Today, in my 30s, I realise I am as clueless about life as I was when I was 15. Yes, I have been forced to "adult" by experiences I never chose to have, traumas I never imagined and mental and physical health issues I once attributed to old people, but am I truly ready to be responsible if I had a choice? We are all forced into our paths of career, choices and decisions as adults more than we ever intend to. The sleepless nights we once spent thinking about our life goals are now stressed with investment issues, parents getting older, people around us leaving all the time for various reasons and our innermost insecurities. We realise that life is not as meaningful or purposeful as we thought it to be. We realise we exist and breathe, and perhaps have no rhyme or reason as to why. We realise that the fact that we thought everything would make sense is untrue. Nothing makes sense in this chaos, and no matter what you plan, they don't work out. Manifestation works for very few people. But I know myself a little better than I did at 15, 1 am less critical about my shortcomings and more accepting of my flaws, and I know the things I don't want in life. That is the part of adulting that I chose to have. The rest of it just came along with life. Every time I hear the term "grow up", it upsets me. Especially when it's said because someone got happy over something silly like having a celebrity crush or finding their favourite ice lollies still taste the same. When did growing up equate to being boringly unhappy? Do we not have enough problems and stress on our plates daily, not to judge if someone gets momentary happiness out of "irrelevant" things? I guess artists know this more than anyone else in the world. We know how to love and respect what we do without equating the time spent with money earned. We know how to hold on to our dreams even if the reality of our situations pushes them further away. In short, we survive in our dream bubbles but are fully aware of the reality around us, so don't be fooled. We choose to be adults in a way that suits us more than it suits society. Why is that a crime in the eyes of realists? Why is everything that goes beyond dull monotony termed immaturity? I have no idea, do you?