When you turn 18, you’re often told you’re an adult now. The choices you make will affect you more in your life.

But when do you really start feeling like an adult?

I always though the feeling would hit you, when youd be getting IDed or moving into your first place alone or getting married, having babies.

But the moment I truly realised I was an Adult, was during this pandemic. For I was suddenly scared I would loose my job, and if I lost my job how would I pay rent/bills? It was worrying about the responsibilities I had created in my adulting life, because it didn’t matter what room I looked in, my mother was not there. This was not her house. This was mine.

It hit me when I heard of people loosing their jobs and feeling this overwhelming empathy for I couldn’t fathom being in that situation. It was the reality of it suddenly being so close to home. And not just hearing it on a TV show.

It hit me when I realised I was watching the world go into a possible recession. For growing up all I heard was my mother shouting ‘We’re in a recession!!’ about things and never really understanding. Until I started caring about the economy, until the company I worked for was being affected, and in result myself too. It was watching businesses close and once again feeling this overwhelming empathy for it all.

You see minus the pandemic and the world on lockdown I had encountered these things as a kid. Id seem my mother struggle for money, id heard about a recession and id seem stores I liked going to close. But back then I just shrugged it off as it didn’t properly affect me, I was sheltered by the naivety of youth.

But now it hit me, I was an adult. And what’s going on in the world is affecting me head on, no matter where I turn. This is adulting.

I still stand by my statement of I don’t want to be an adult, its scary. Because this is scary. Is my future safe? Im saving to buy a house and as I watch everything fall im worried my reality might be a long was off now. This is being an adult.

This is the feeling of being an adult.

Ill still probably feel like I’m playing dress up when I get married, and I still get anxious when im IDed for everything despite being 6years over the legal age. But this, this economy, and rent, and watching the news for updates. Is making me feel more like an adult than I ever have before.

                                                                       help.