By Victor Dixon, Editor-in-Chief
When I was younger, I always marveled at the idea of all of the freedoms and responsibilities that come with adulthood. I think we’ve all felt at some point how exciting it might be to drive a car or eat whatever we want or work some important and honorable job.
I think we also all know by now that adulthood isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Many of us have ventured into the world of rising costs and unforgiving, unrewarding jobs and have been met with a strong sense of nostalgia for simpler times of algebra homework and Saturday-morning cartoons; it’s a tale as old as time.
Because of this, taking that big step of permanently moving out of your family home can be super intimidating, and I was definitely feeling that fear just under two months ago when my three best friends and I signed the lease for our new rental.
There is so much uncertainty surrounding things that you’d think you would feel absolutely certain about. You might privately think that everything should line up before you take such a step: You need to make the right amount of money, have the right job, be at a certain point in your education. But all these things will never actually line up perfectly.
That’s why, in reality, you just have to do the scary thing and have faith that everything will turn out okay.
For me, it’s been perfect — a perfect month of eating nostalgic struggle meals together, crunching the numbers of my income versus my rent, showing old friends around my new place, taking turns with my best friends hiding a silly action figure like an Elf-on-the-Shelf, making endless trips to the store to get household necessities, and drinking tea while watching birds through the back window with my cat Leo.
There have been tears and laughs and a healthy handful of really hard days, and I wouldn’t trade any moment for another in the dorms — no offense to Res Life. And as much as I love my mom, and as nerve-wracking as adulthood is, I’ve never felt more fulfilled and independent than I do now.
The real key is to surround yourself with support. I can vividly remember that moment, exactly one month ago, when I stepped into my new place, unpacked with my mom, hugged her, and heard her say she’s proud of me.
Everybody must face that terrifying milestone that fills them with dread, and this was mine. You’ll come to find that it’s all worth it for those little moments that you deserve to share with the people that love you.
PHOTO: Victor Dixon, Editor-in-Chief
