When are you supposed to feel like an adult?
 

This may sound silly, but I'm being serious.

I'm in my mid-20's now and I still feel no different than what I was like back in High School. I've graduated College and have a full-time job, yet I don't feel like an, "adult" whatsoever.

I remember when I was in High School thinking I'd be totally different when I hit my 20's and especially mid-20's...yet I feel virtually no different and I still like almost all the same things I did when I was like 17.

Seriously, WTF? I guess after you get married and have your own kid you tend to feel like an adult, and that hasn't happened to me yet. Anyone here with kids can say that made you feel different?

i dont feel any different either. but im going to be 29 in 2 weeks. erm...i dont think theres a moment where you feel a switch into adulthood, man. no 2nd puberty or anything...you're just you, but older. waiting for some sign to let you know you're an adult is pointless. you just are.

Being an adult means you've lived at least 18 years. Feeling like an adult is what you get to after you stop feeling like a kid. The more responsibilities you have, the more adult you should feel.

I have 2 boys I'm a kid most of the time around them having fun but i become an adult when i need to be. just be yourself no need to worry if you still do kid stuff. As i say to my kids dont be in a hurry to grow up.

It sounds like you are waiting for your Saturn Return. Here is another explanation as well.

The thing about it all though is that you are the only one who can change yourself. I believe that if the time comes and you realize where you are in life and if you desire change then that is the best time to accept and make that change happen, if you miss this opportunity I believe you will always be the same, meaning changing yourself will become more difficult.

Saturn is coming back around in my life here soon and it has got me thinking a lot about my future, the future of the things I do, the projects I am involved in, etc.

Check it out, even if you don't believe in this sort of stuff it is definitely interesting to read.

-ms

my two cents:

In my opinion we belong to the luckiest generation, we can keep the majority despite the responsibilities, our way of life (internal/mind) without major changes.
The rest is a social convention .... you can be married, have children and feel like same child/person deep inside; other generations were not so lucky because it was apparently not frowned upon (social convention) for an adult.

I mean....your soul, your spirit can grow but not grow old.... :)

To me, its when you can responsibly follow all of the laws and have good social skills without the assistance of stuff that you learned as a child. You don't have to be married, have kids, or even live separately from your parents and not be considered "adult". Its just a choice of lifestyle. I live in a large house and treat my bedroom area like a studio apartment, and I own a share in another house with my father.

as far as i'm concerned, adulthood is owning a house and i can't even fathom ever having my **** together enough to do that so no adulthood for me

I've come to the conclusion that most people never feel like adults, and, even at their most successful, view their lives with a sense of childish disconnect and wonder, constantly amazed by the things they've done and have.

You don't grow up; you just get old.

I've always wondered if its just the fact that our generation grew up with more "fandom stuff" than our parents that we grew up slower. So many adults still like watching cartoons, reading comics and playing videogames, that our interest in "fandom" makes us still feel younger.

My father is a big Star Trek fan, but that remains his only fandom. He never got into videogames besides playing Super Mario Bros. 1 with me on the NES when I was 5.

I think there was a study saying the average videogame player is now 35 years old, when back in the 90's videogames were viewed as, "just for kids," and so forth.

I wonder if this is the case.

I think it's subjective to the person. What makes one feel like an adult may not be the same for everyone. I know when I started working in college, I felt like an adult because I was earning my own money and using it for practical purposes such as buying lunch. It felt good that I didn't have to ask my dad for money all the time once I got the job (except during those first pay periods where we didn't get paid right away). After I graduated and the economy fell flat, I began to really question whether I'd ever feel like an adult. I still live with my parents, and maybe when I move out, I'll really feel like a true adult.

With the prospect of getting my tutoring job, I know I'll feel like an adult again because I'll be working and earning my own money. It just depends on the person.

When you move out of your parent's house for good. When you stop needing someone to take care of you......when you sacrifice your own wants to provide for someone else....That's when you're an adult.

Living at home.....nope still a kid. Someone is providing for you whether you think so or not.

Mom and dad paying you rent? Still a kid.

Mom and dad paying your rent even if you have a job....or live at home...all so you can buy toys and junk? Definitely still a kid.

I think I'll feel like an adult when I'm my parents ages, in the 60s range lol

It's like the old saying "only as old as you feel"

That's true, also there is a big difference between being responsible and acting old.

Right, but I don't know about "feeling like an adult." Those things don't constitute a fundamental shift in the way you feel about yourself and view the world.

I'm out of my parents' house, living with my fiancee on my own salary now. I'm planning for the future of my career and education. I have a professional job. I certainly call myself an adult. But I think a lot of people can identify with making those steps and not feeling any different. I don't. I don't know any one who does. And I don't see that changing in ten years', twenty years' or thirty years' time.

Yes indeed there is

I wonder if it has to do with this generation too. 30 year olds now act like 20 year olds. People are saying "the 30's are the new 20's." and so forth.

It actually surprises me. Some of my co-workers are in their early and mid-30's and they act like 22 year old College students. You would seriously not be able to tell the difference just by the way they act and talk about, even though most of them are married and have kids.

there's this...I'd heard the term TWITT bandied about for the past few years.

Teens Well Into Their Thirties.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...its-shes-.html

I'm in my late 20s and I act like a teen lol :lol:

Never. In many areas. I can be happy like a kid, especially when it's about guitars, music, Turtles... But I have a good sense, a good reason, which I would call "a result of growing up".

I think feeling like an adult is when you feel responsible for yourself and you realize that your parents have no obligation to you anymore. Sure, you can still be close to them and all, but they don't have to take care of you if you can take care of yourself. Sadly, my sister still doesn't get that idea and thinks that my parents are still obligated to her even if she's out of the house. Um, they aren't. You're an adult, and you need to take responsibility for yourself.

I'm married, I own a house but that isn't what makes me feel like an adult. I think when life starts giving you serious problems to deal with it's how you handle and learn from them that makes you realise you actually have grown up. Of course being one when it counts doesn't mean I act like one when it doesn't. ;)

I grew up of "kid" stuff during my early/mid teens but by my late teens I realized it was stupid to not embrace your inner child and enjoy the stuff you like whether it's something you outgrew or not. I never felt embarrased for liking stuff I did or anything, I felt all of that stuff was things you worried about in jr. high and early high school about how others view you and after that awkward period ended no one really cared what you did and this was true for many years.

However recently just hitting my mid 20s I look at myself and wonder if the thigns I'm doing are childish a lot, When no one I hang out with or talk to even thinks about it, it just makes me feel very childish and makes me wonder why I am indeed wasting my time on it and I feel very immature. I don't know why that is but it's getting harder to justify having a toy on my shelf or wasting some of my time watching some old cartoon from my childhood. Not because I don't like it but I feel I am could be doing something better and more important with my time. And I start feeling embarrased again in social situations similarly to when I hit 7th grade which I thought I had outgrown and learned to embrace my inner kid.

When you think about it, there's no clear line, is there?

Sign I saw in a restaurant:

"WE DO NOT TOLERATE SCREAMING BABIES HERE, EVEN IF THEY ARE 40 YEARS OLD!"

WOOOOORRRRRDDD!!! THIS RIGHT HERE! THIS IS CORRECT!

lol! :tlol:

I will gladly never feel like an adult.

I hate people who think you have to. I get a lot of comments for liking comics and cartoons and video games and wrestling, like you HAVE to stop liking those things at a certain age.

k, I will continue to enjoy life while you 'adults' carry on being boring prudes.

Lol good one :D

I think you're officially an adult when you're stoked to get something practical and useful as a birthday or christmas gift instead of useless toys and games.

"Oh sh*t! A nice ass Vacuum cleaner! This is awesome!"

Hah, I remember the first time that happened to me. I felt so old.

Gee I'm lucky that's not happened yet :D

Reminds me of an elderly woman who wrote a letter to the Chicago Tribune about how, when she was young, was hoping for a toy for Christmas and was disappointed to get thermal underwear instead. But her mind was changed when the weather turned colder and she felt much more comfortable being outside while wearing it.

-C.S. Lewis

I would say you're unlucky because you're still in a childish state.

Being able to appreciate the useful stuff is awesome.

I get that people like to enjoy their kid stuff but the amount of peter panning nowadays is nuts. If you're nearly 30.....probably time to grow up a smidge.

Brilliant. :tcool::tthumbsu:
Dude had a point.

Well, for me, I could care less about presents anymore. I just don't see the point in getting anything for Christmas or my birthday because I feel it isn't about material things. I used to be so excited on Christmas to receive toys and things like that, but now I just don't want anything anymore because it doesn't matter to me. Sure, if I need something like clothes, I can accept that. Then again, I never was disappointed when I was given clothes at all. I always liked them and thought they were awesome. So, for me, I really feel I have grown up in that way because I don't worry about what I want for Christmas or my birthday anymore. It doesn't matter.

Then again, I don't care about holidays anymore either. They've become boring and meaningless rather than anything worth celebrating. I guess that's my age showing.

Or your pessimistic attitude.

nice real nice dude. coming from u that means little to me. and also i do appreciate the useful stuff :roll:

Well, I think I've entered the realm of 'adult'....

I'm beyond buying any kind of toys or lil doodads. I very rarely buy anything comic book related, unless it's a book for drawing techniques; The Art of The Avatar was my last book. We do the 'useful' stuff for Christmas and birthdays... flannel bedding, car parts...

Mom's whole cancer ordeal really forced the last of the kiddie type stuff to the back burners of life. Financially, I have a good full-time job, I own my car, no school debt ( as of this week! :D ), yet I don't make enough to afford a place of my own. Prices around here have jumped with all the commuters from Boston...

So, I live at home with my parents. However, I help with groceries, contribute to the heating oil fund, upkeep and maintenance - I've helped renovate half of the rooms in our house in the past two, three years. And as much as a bad rap some people get for living at home... I love being with my parents and brother.


God I sound like an old frump... :goof:

Maybe it's when you stop regarding holidays as a "Oooo, I get stuff!" and it becomes, "Oooo, I get to spend time with my family and loved ones." that makes you an adult.

I think I've come to the realization that, at least until I have kids anyway, I'll probably always collect things. GI Joe, movie props, Star Wars merch, dolls, whatever it is I always seem to keep collecting them. But I guess what really matters is that you take care of yourself and you don't put collecting toys first ahead of the important things in life.