If anyone ever told you being an adult was the best thing ever, they weren’t completely telling you the truth. Of course, there are some great advantages of being an adult but they fail to tell you that it is also just plain difficult.

Growing up, I was a pretty spoiled kid. My parents made being an adult look easy. All I knew was that they would go to work, come home, my mom would cook while my dad paid bills, we’d have dinner then go to bed. That was the daily routine at least. I always thought money was never an issue. If I lost my phone, my dad would get me a new one. If I broke my laptop, my dad would get me a new one. I did say I was spoiled. I didn’t have to worry about anything growing up. I was able to go to school, do homework, play, and repeat.

In high school, I wasn’t allowed to get a job, I actually wanted one, at the time. I was at that age that I wanted more independence and to have more freedom to do my own thing. But I finished high school with no job and was heading off to college. During this transition from high school to college, the spoiled kid in me was slapped in the face by reality.

During my freshman year of college, my parents were getting divorced. With all of that, I had to get a car, pay my own bills, and groceries. I was so used to my parents paying for everything that I was scared. I had to get a job and grow up. By sophomore year, I got a job on campus. I was able to get a car that year as well. Things were looking up, I was doing well with the adulting thing. Junior year I found myself with two jobs. One job was on campus and the other was for a catering company.

I would never have thought that the same spoiled kid who never worked a day in her life for 20 years, had two jobs while in school. But life happened and adulting came swiftly.

After college, adulting just kept getting harder and harder. I love the perks of being able to drive, go to parties, and drink of course! However, then there are bills, careers,  and all other responsibilities to worry about. Post-graduation, I have had five jobs (not all at once), and that was almost three years ago. I am currently at the fifth job and I am still figuring out what I want to do in life. On top of that, I still have bills to pay, and I am even starting to look for my own place, which is pretty scary.

It’s crazy to look back and think that as a kid I was so excited to grow up. Now, as a grown-up, I am terrified.  I love being independent, I love being on my own. But there’s a lot of responsibilities, and I was not prepared for them.