Join the army or a gang. Or better yet both. That magic moment when you realize that you are a full grown honest to god adult just comes and goes and flies by.

Ok, seriously. Soon you will just stop thinking about it since you have too much stuff to worry about than thinking silly stuff like this. One day when you have enough time to hang with your buddies you might remember that you worried about being an adult. You shrug, figure you might be one and forget about it again.

To be honest man, growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be. Its funny. When you are younger, all you want to do is "grow up" and be an adult....but when you get to be an adult, all you want to do is be a kid.

Having to work your butt off just to pay bills isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sure, you can go wherever you want WHENEVER you want, but the trade off with all the stress that comes with it, just isn't worth it.

Trust me, the best time of your life are the carefree days of your youth. Enjoy them.

Jordanv78 :

I'm a TEENAGER right now and I kind of want to go back to being a kid.

A part of me wishes to stay as a teenager, though. Another part of me wishes to have the responsibilities an adult has at the same time. Trust me, if you went back to being a kid, you'd probably be saying that you want to be an adult again. At least that's what would happen if I was a kid again.

The sad thing is that none of us can never go back.

Jordanv78 : I do not agree. Sure, you have SO MANY responsibilities, but at least you are (usually) making something productive out of your life. I look back and do not like my (first) college self, where I was rather carefree about my results and did poorly. On my second bachelor, however, I was 8 years older and fared WAY better because of the maturity I acquired.

I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid!


In all seriousness though, I'm a bit intimidated by the prospect of having to take responsibility for myself, but, that's mostly because I've lived such a sheltered life up until this point.I mean I'm 16 and I haven't been anywhere without at least one family member with me.So needless to say, I'm a bit apprehensive about stepping out into the big bad world all by myself.

 On the flip-side, I'd say I've matured quite a bit in the last few years and I'm developing more of a since of responsibility.I'm not there yet, but, I think I'll manage just fine.

Spidey243 : depending on where you are from, look for occasions to go on exchange trips. I did Katimatik (Canada) a while ago and it was my first time separated from my family for so long (9 months) and I enjoyed every bit of the separation. This feeling of autonomy was almost overwhelming! Sure, I had to abide by certain strict rules but I did not feel like I was a child.

elzath42191 : going to college always depends on your skills but also your life goals. There are many good-paying jobs (in construction, as you mentioned, although that one follows economic cycles) that require apprenticeship or technical degrees at best. If you do choose college make sure your goals are defined, even if it means NOT going there straight out of high school. Otherwise you will likely pursue a major with limited opportunities where Wal Mart will be the most likely job you can get, plus a ton of debt.

janus : You've got a good point there.  College isn't for everyone.  It's also true that a lot of college graduates these days are having a hard time finding work with their degrees.

Jordanv78 : I'm 24 and I am already dreading all the bills and responsibilities. I agree, sometimes we look forward to something that we don't always fully enjoy what we have at the moment. Adulthood is not that bad but, wouldn't mind redoing my childhood lol.

jlove92 : I guess it depends on the people's experience. I personally couldn't wait to become an adult and stop being the loner whom no one wanted to befriend. In order to get used to it, try doing it progressively; had I stayed any longer my parents would have made me pay rent. I think it would be a good start.

I can honestly say, as a 20 almost 21 year old man, some parts of being adult is not so bad. I like being able to drive, I like the advantages, having my own home, and all of these things, even the son I am about to have. At the same time however, I miss many of the things from my childhood, I have found that slowly but surely I am losing my interest in gaming. The games I could play 24/7 if I was allowed no longer satisfy me the way they did before. I cannot watch the cartoon I loved as a child. I cant move around as quickly and I am not near as agile as I was even though I do still work out. I do hate having to go to work. I do love getting my own paycheck though. There are many parts of being an Adult that are fun, but there are many things that are not as well. My biggest loss here is my games, I love my games it calms my nerves if I am having a bad day, I can still play Illusion of Gaia and enjoy it, I can still play a dungeon or two on Zelda as well. But, to be honest my skill level on video games seems to have diminished as well. The tricks and techniques I used when playing Sonic as a child seem to be harder for me to do now, my timing isn't quite what it used to be either. Maybe its just me or maybe its part of me getting older, my mind wants to think about my actions more and before I just did what came naturally. I guess what I am saying is that being an Adult has some good parts, but being a child was much more fun to me. Oh well, maybe my gaming will return when my son gets older and can play, Haha. 

I am actually not that worried about being an adult. I am kind of just enjoying the last few years of my childhood and gonna experience adulthood when it happens. I am not going to worry about that stuff now. It is kind of weird for me as I worry about everything, but I don't worry about being an adult. 

reaper13342 : playing games is like biking: you never actually forget it. You just need to get used to it again . If I had a controller back in my hands I'm sure I would do relatively well, considering that I remember so much of the game. Also don't be afraid of having your tastes change. It's only normal that you don't like Sesame Street as much

RDay13 : That's the spirit! Since Neverland doesn't exist, you might as well embrace adulthood

Brigand :

What if you're not allowed to join the army like me? D:

I also felt that this thread needed this video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJ-ZLdrTwY

Let me warn all of you that are under 18 (or whatever the legal adult age in your country is), you all say that you can't wait till you become an adult, but I will earn you, once you become an adult, it will hit you like a ton of bricks. So, enjoy your kid/teen life while it lasts. Adult life truly sucks.

It's kinda funny, when you were a kid, you have the time, but not the money to do fun things. As an adult, you have the money (if bills and other expenses doesn't suck you dry), but don't have the time, so basically, it's a lose lose situation. Adult life isn't all about rainbows and unicorns like kids thinks it is, we adults got a ton of responsibilities to take care of.

So, growing up sucks, a lot. Although hitting adult age isn't the end of the world, it also have it's benefits, when you work and get money (and expenses don't suck you dry), you can basically buy anything you want to buy, as long you got the money to get it.

Plus Growing up doesn't mean you have to give up your childhood, like how they want you to believe, that is a bunch of lies, you don't give up things just because your age hits a certain number, only if you lose interest, and interest and age are two different things.

unpro27 : Well I'm 27 now, and I will say growing up can be really scary. It was when I was about 13, and began to start thinking about growing up, and how much fun it would be, and all these things I was going to do and so on. Well, Things didn't work out like I wanted, but it's okay. The one thing I can say is life is an amazing ride, with a lot of ups and downs. Be the true man you seek , and all will be good.

I'm assuming that by 'growing up', you mean becoming an independent adult?  There are many people my age I wouldn't consider grown up, so putting an age on 'growing up' just doesn't seem right to me.

If indeed, you're worried about making it on your own, I'll say this: It SUCKS!  Now.. I know that's a horrible thing to say when you are already stressing over it.... but I think it's better to be prepared than to jump in blind.  Kids and teenagers (I was one of them, don't worry) seem to think that life is SO HARD!  Everything is a big issue, everything makes their heart race, and everything drastically affects their emotions.

Boy... as a few posters here said.... what I wouldn't give to be a kid / teenager again and with the knowledge that I have now!  Even though it doesn't feel like it, you are in the easiest days of your life.  Once you learn to take care of yourself and depend on yourself, your world completely changes.  I was just discussing this with my husband the other day and telling him about all the multi-tasking that I have to do.  I was actually JUST talking myself through the week and making a list of things I need to get done before making this post.  It makes me want to rip my hair out, because it seems like there is never enough time to do anything.

Not to mention, any mistakes carry bigger consequences, relationships should be more meaningful and thus can be more severely damaged, and expectations are much higher than normal.

It's scary.

But you know what?  Being an adult also comes with greater rewards.  As you develop a partnership / get married (if that's something you desire), have children, become gainfully employed, and make big decisions.... you'll learn to take ownership over your thoughts. You'll develop a true sense of who YOU are as a person. And you'll get to see the results of every decision you make.  The good results will show you that you've got things under control.

Growing up is stressful, but it also feels GREAT!  You won't get half the experiences as a child that you do as an adult. The fact that every impact is greater... means that life takes on deeper meaning.  Hold your chin up, and you're bound to realize that things are better more often than they are worse.

I'm 27 so technically, I am "grown up"... although half of the time I don't feel like it lol. I used to have a deep fear about growing up when I was younger, but it wasn't so much about growing up as it was just the future in general. I was suffering from depression and felt that I wasn't equipped to handle life.
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Nowadays, although I still have a bit of fear for the future (which I think also ties into fear of the unknown) it's more so just "growing old" - where will I be working in 5 to 10 years, what will it be like when my parents die, etc. I don't let it hold me back though, and I try to talk to people about it as often as I can (otherwise it just rents space in my head which is never a good thing).

If it's just a general fear, I think you're okay. But if it's starting to impact your life it might be something to look into (telling your parents, talking to someone, etc).