On the Nature of Adulthood and Replacing Water Filters

Yesterday, as I drove around town with a friend, letting summer slip through my fingers in a combination of idle chatter and ineffectiveness I eventually came upon the realization that we were  adults now. As inane as that sounds, to me it was significant-- we had clawed our way through mandatory education and had finished our first year of college. As much as all of our middle and high school teachers always lectured that we would have to shape up in college and actually study, actually try, and stop waiting till the last minute to finish our assignments by the skin of our teeth, I didn't feel like anything had actually changed.

Maybe it was the high school I went to, but all that really happened over the years was that I refined my procrastination technique. And as much as I am jealous of others' ability to actually manage their time and be effective (perhaps even super effective?), I never felt more alive as when I had stayed up for three days straight to cram for my Organic Chemistry exam and finish 3 final papers.  It was a badge of pride to get sleep in my high school, but more than that, it was a badge of pride to be able to crank out a paper for Brit Lit in 4 hours, or to finish 12 lab reports for the Chemistry lab book check that was due the next day. I take pride in the ability to pump out a paper or cram the night before, but on some level, as I look at the B on my transcript, I know I could have done better if I didn't procrastinate.

So what really changes in the course of being an adult? What makes 18 such a significant age that we're considered adults by technicality? I don't really feel like an adult. And I know that a lot of people older than me wouldn't consider 18 as really being an adult either.

According to some it's the existence of a monthly bill. I don't think it's that cut and dry. Sometimes I realize that I'm growing up when I replace the water filter instead of letting someone else do it. Taking simple little responsibilities instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you. But maybe I'm mistaking adulthood for maturity... Then again are they really mutually exclusive?