9 Things No One Tells You About Being a Grown-up

I am officially 'in my thirties'. I would say I am a young woman who has a pulse on trends and still in-the-know but many in their 20's probably think otherwise. I don't see 30 as being 'that old'... even though in my teens and early 20's I probably thought it was. Yet, I have consciously noticed a shift in my lifestyle that is a far cry from my late-night, energetic and active ways from years ago.

The 9 things no one tells you about being a grown-up is an insightful article on the paradigm shift that happens as you get older. While there are still many constants in your life, regardless of your age, there are also a lot of things that change. Yes, I sometimes miss the crazy nights out with friends that would end with taco bell and taxi cabs but I value my mornings (hangover-free) that are full of activity... coffee dates, workouts and my walks with rocco so much more. 

Check out the list below and see if you relate. The article has tons more info so, please click here to read the whole thing. 

1. your candy consumption will come back to haunt you - the cavities, the sugar crashes, the fillings that need replacements and the extra pound here and there all seemed so far off when I was kid getting my sugar fix.

2. it gets harder and harder to keep up with the young folk - as you get older and super busy with your career and own life, you realize that being totally up on the newest thing is tough to do. 

3. being an adult doesn't mean you know what you want to be - when you become an adult, you realize that it is very rare that people know exactly what they want to do after college. Sometimes you toil away at a career just because “it works for now.”

4. making and keeping friends is not so easy - work will make it harder to keep up with people who aren’t in the cubicle next to you, and when you start to have a family, it gets even trickier. Fortunately, a few cool things happen in the meantime: You start to value time alone; you learn to trust your own tastes and opinions as much as anyone else’s; and you learn that the company of one person who gets you is so much more valuable than hours with people who happen to like to go to the same bars as you.

5. still, you will care about what people think - no matter how confident a person you become, you will frequently compare yourself to other people and wonder how you come across to them. This will no longer paralyze or consume you the way it might have when you were 13, but it will nag you from time to time. 

6. you feel really tired -  this is the kind of tired where sleep is so precious that you would probably give up a kidney for some sleep.

7. your parents become real people - when you become an adult, you see them as they are, no more, no less. That’s both terrifying and really cool. 

8. you may never feel like you know what you are doing - credit reports? 401Ks? Mortgages? Taxes? This stuff is hard to learn, but it can feel like you are supposed to suddenly and magically be an expert on all the boring and annoying bills and paperwork adulthood involves.

9. you won't feel like an adult - maybe we are like Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30, operating on the idea that we are still our wide-eyed teen selves, just newly endowed with the ability to buy stuff and go to a cool job everyday. Maybe we will always be in a bit of disbelief that we have made it to adulthood.