Adulthood.

You hear people every day complaining about the negatives of "growing up," but have we ever stopped to consider and appreciate the positives of growing up?

Growing up is quite scary...I'm not dismissing that at all. I'm terrified every day as I see my friends having kids and getting married left and right. It's like, what the heck, you're having kids? I am a kid. I couldn't imagine being responsible for the development of another human life when I can hardly take control of my own. It's a frightening thought...and our biggest fears of monsters, ghosts, and vampires turn into credit card bills, having to buy auto insurance, and our bank accounts. It's a mighty big leap going from fearing mythical figures to fearing actual concrete issues that are somewhat out of our control.

However, it's not fair to constantly revel in our angsts about growing up. We should let ourselves still look at the glass half full, and the idea of being an adult is a huge part of this glass of water in front of us.

If I had to compile a list of some of my favorite things about entering adulthood:

• Being able to decide for yourself what is important to you.
• Growing up, my parents constantly pressed higher education, good grades, and financial security as the most important things in life and the only keys to success. While I don't disagree that it probably feels great having a perfect credit score and a good paying job, I don't let these ideals cloud my thoughts of finding a better way to understand personal success. These ideals are great yes, but at the same time it'll dictate me to start measuring what I have rather than what I have accomplished. 
• I see personal successes as overcoming personal obstacles, such as being happy with myself, being aware of who I am and what I feel comfortable to choose to portray to the public, and understanding that self-confidence means not looking down at people but rather, not feeling the need to compare myself with anyone else. My personal best has nothing to do with someone else's magnitude of success or what others define as "success." It's about understand that you did your own best, not someone else's best. 
• Being able to get myself out of tough situations and getting out of them.
• It's an indescribable feeling that comes with full independence. I don't need anyone to get me out of a mess, it's up to me to save my own ass and save my own day...it's awesome. 
• Experience is a teacher. 
• Everything throughout every new milestone we reach is mainly research and experience. That's literally what helps us grow as adults. We learn to mind what we say, stand up for what we believe, and get out of uncomfortable situations if we feel like it. We make mistakes in our 20s and learn from them by the time we reach our 30s. It's about being progressive, which keeps us from making the same mistakes over and over again. Being seasoned comes with experience. You can't have the rainbow without some rainstorms. To be progressive, we must learn to deal with these issues but to also believe that yes, we can get back up. 
• Being able to do trips alone.
• I feel my absolute best when I travel alone. It's great that since I hit my 20s I can take trips alone without my parents. It's scary but extremely exciting at the same time. Traveling solo is so therapeutic, and even taking a short trip like a plane ride to San Jose for a few days is refreshing. I felt the most grown up this past April when I booked a flight to San Jose, rented a car by myself, and booked a hotel/checked in for my friend's wedding. It felt amazing just driving all around the Bay Area by myself and doing all these things I saw my parents doing all the time when I was little, and finally doing it myself without any help. The feeling I had when I successfully rented a car, drove from the airport, drove all around Santa Cruz/Palo Alto/Los Altos, pick up my friend from the airport and check myself into a hotel was indescribable. I never felt more grown up than that weekend. 
• Knowing that every decision you make today affects your tomorrow. (College)
• As frightening as this thought is, it actually makes me appreciate adulthood even more. I like the idea that everything I do has a consequence, because it'll make me realize how one decision is better than the other. During college I could have chosen to not study, could have chosen to just become a pothead/junkie and not do any work or go to class, could have chosen to quit sports, could have chosen to not join the school newspaper and could have chosen not to do a numerous amount of things. It's scary to see that everything I chose to do and the decisions I made had put me where I am today. 
• Making the right decisions in college was truly a learning experience in itself...it was the first time I was able to make my own choices. I'm glad that this is where the experience comes in as well when trying to reach adulthood. Every choice has a consequence. College was a breeding ground for bad decisions and distractions. It was great that I was able to walk away from them at the appropriate times. Don't get me wrong...it wasn't like I was a complete nerd and only lived at the library. All 5 years of college I studied hard and partied harder.
•  I knew when to give myself breaks, when to have fun, and when to buckle down and study. I didn't lock myself up in my room until I got As. I think that's sort of pointless, not to mention, counterproductive. Being an adult meant deciding when it's appropriate to give yourself some free time to relax and when I needed to study, and that was the most vital lesson I have ever learned to date. It's about balancing your schedule and understanding that you shouldn't ever take on more than you can handle, and that's what college taught me. It isn't about pressuring yourself and grinding your nose into the ground but more so studying "smarter, not harder." 

There are a million other reasons why being adult is actually cool, but for my 24 year old self, I find these bulletpoints the most important to me as of now. I believe that if you master these things, everything else will come easily to you in life. You'll be able to see things from a bigger scope/scale, you'll be able to understand the underlying problems of every issue, and you'll be able to understand and sort through life a lot easier once you realize all these things. There's no time limit as to when you can reach these things. For me personally it just took about roughly 23 years, and the best part is, I'm not done learning. I'm still researching. And whatever next enlightenment or experience I get to receive, I'll be able to accept it happily, for I know that it'll push me forward to progress further and further every year. Your life knows no bounds, and it's never too late to start anything, learn anything, or believe anything. 

So say it with me, "Grow up along with me! The best is yet to be."