Being an Adult Sucks

[Paragon Fury]

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?

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Just going to leave this here.

 

[Someone Depressing]

There's a saying in many Asian countries that quite honestly reflects their societies: "Life ends after high school, and starts again when you get your first pension".

I wouldn't say that my life is too irrefutably terrible, but I do miss the lack of responsibility and feasibility of being a little shit with no long-lasting consequences that basically compose childhood. Then again, I do get a lot of support from friends and family and whatnot.

 

[Barbas]

Yeah, I have to agree with the sentiment that it's really up to you in the end. You make your own game. You don't really have to "grow up" like many people say, you just are, you just happen naturally like you've always been doing. If, while you're living, you find yourself becoming happier, wiser and more good-natured as a result of your experiences, then good for you.

 

[tippy2k2]

When it comes to fun though, screw what anyone says, what I do to pass my own time is my business. When even my ultra conservative in-laws have given up and just accepted my gaming and anime, not to mention sizeable heavy music collection and matching dress sense I think I'm doing OK.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

You know what adults I see are the miserable ones? The ones that feel like they have to act like adults.

As Unkillable mentioned, there are some responsibilities that come with being an adult that you probably shouldn't ever ignore (like bills), remember that the only one who can really put restrictions on yourself is you.

I have the money now to buy whatever games/systems that I want. My desk at work looks like a toddler stumbled through it and dumped a bunch of their toys all over the place. I had Cap'N Crunch for dinner yesterday (fuck yo rules breakfast! I am the master now!).

I'm finding that right after college is the worst time period since you've (probably) got a stupid amount of debt but you do not have the job to fight said debt. I made the very poor decision of going to a private college and getting a worthless degree so at 28 (...29 in six days...fuck D so I'm still stuck in that zone a bit longer than I want to be but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I love being an adult.

I earn my own money, live in my own house, enjoy my job, get drunk with my friends and/or my boyfriend (which I may be doing right now).

You have more responsibility, sure, but I wouldn't trade the independence for anything.

 

[Queen Michael]

I got up an hour ago. It's 11 PM and I got up an hour ago.

I ate ice cream for dinner the other day. Bcause I felt like it.

I don't have to go on family vacations anymore. I can skip family gatherings unless I actually want to go to them. (And I don't.) I don't have to learn meningless things and pretend there's a point to it. I can appreciate great books that I wasn't mature enough for in the past. Do I read hentai or not? That's my choice. And only mine.

Nobody tells me to play with some complete stranger just because we're the same age. Nobody tells me I need to live with my abusive dad. Nobody tells me to worship a God who didn't want to stop the Holocaust.

Being an adult is the best thing ever.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

You know what adults I see are the miserable ones? The ones that feel like they have to act like adults.

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - CS Lewis

That guy knew a thing or two about a thing or two, I reckon.

 

[Vault101]

to me being an adult is not about whether or not people look at you weird for enjoying stuff, I'd say thats the least of your issues

its when you really start to step out of your bubble and think about the past, the future, the world...shit can get rather morbid

thats why I prefer escapism fiction, I got enough shit to think about IRL why watch so much unnecessary suffering?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Did I ever become an adult?
I still play video games, collect all things involving dragons, watch cartoons, read comic books, spend my money on Pokemon plushies. I'm not an adult, I'm a financially responsible child with a full time job. You're only as old as you feel OP. Also, my nieces and nephew love me because I'm the only adult that understands the awesomeness of the things they like. If people look down on me for the things that I enjoy, screw them, I pay my bills on time, what I do with my disposable income is my business.

There are also certain advantages to "thinking like a child" particularly in creative fields.

 

[HardkorSB]

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.

You know what becomes available when you become an adult?
Making decisions for yourself.
If you want to cover your apartment with posters of anime girls and walk around dressed as a Pokemon, you can.
As long as you don't care what other people think (and for the most part, you really shouldn't), you can like whatever you want to like.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Recognizing myself somewhat in OP's post and haven taken in everyone's advice to basically not care what anyone else thinks, I have but one question..

How do I not care?

 

[jademunky]

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

Well, being an adult means people depend on you. People at work depend on you to do your job, your kids (or in my case, animals) depend on you to feed them your significant other depends on you to cover your share of the responsibilities, make sure the house does not fall apart. Just the other day, I had to carve out a 3 foot chunk of drywall just so that we could get the brand new dresser up the stairs (so now the dresser will never leave the house AND I will need to replace the hole in the wall, sand it down and repaint the hallway).

Adulthood does suck in a lot of ways, but It is still a million times better than high school. You also find out interesting things about yourself when you have only yourself to rely on. I found out that I really love to cook for one thing, I actually look forward to it at the end of the day and (even more shockingly) am pretty good at it.

And you do not have to give up ALL the things you love. I'm a grown man who plays Dark Souls and reads Spider-Man.

 

[JoJo]

Join the ranks of the manchildren and have the best of both worlds. Some responsibilities are inevitable if you want the freedom of living independently but on your own time, do whatever you want. I love the money and freedom I have now, it's beats schoolwork and having my parents decide everything by a long shot.

 

[Lieju]

I recall being a kid and seeing someone I loved being hurt and having no idea how to help. I recall being stuck in a shitty situation because I was a kid and had no freedom to leave.

So no, I would not go back.
I aim to keep the good things I can (No one's gonna tell me I can't be an adult and collect LEGO for example) but I have experience and freedom to help those kinds of people now and fight against shit like that. My childhood was not horrible overall but I remember the powerlessness and helplessness too well to want to go back to that and lose the freedom I now have.

 

[Jux]

Not really getting what the OP means by 'not getting anything' along with the increased responsibilities. Since when do responsibilities come with on the side perks packaged in? Scratch that, I suppose open ended freedom goes hand in hand with adult responsibilities. Freedom to spend your money how you want, go where and when you want, etc.

And OP, you always have the option to ignore your responsibilities. Of course, that comes with consequences of it's own, but I really think you have a set of rose tinted glasses there. Unless you were the kid whose parents gave them anything they wanted and never enforced any sort of rules. Then yea, I can see how it might be a shock to suddenly have to 'do' things you don't want. But that would be more of a parenting failure than the inherent unfairness of having to get older and take care of yourself.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Recognizing myself somewhat in OP's post and haven taken in everyone's advice to basically not care what anyone else thinks, I have but one question..

How do I not care?

Just behave like you don't care and eventually you'll see it's not that big a deal and you legitimately won't care. Because most people don't care what you're doing, just so long as you're not being a dick.

Thanks for answering my question.
The bad news is that I've tried that. The anguish over that (and many other things I regret) still haunts me today.
It's just not that easy to extrapolate the correct level of appropriateness in every scenario from all the conflicting input one is given but I will continue to try nevertheless..
I guess I'm just that kind of nice sucker that everyone exploits.

With that said, I will not derail this topic further.
I just thought that some advice on how to achieve that "not care about what anyone else says" would not go amiss.

Thanks again.