Once you were dreaming of becoming an astronaut, visiting the furthest places, climbing the highest mountains, finding the biggest love, and then it was all gone one day.
Adulthood happened. It knocked on the door, handed you responsibilities you were not ready for and said that everything’s on your shoulders now. So now, most of my fellow dear millennials are juggling between things like the pandemic that made the world feel like an apocalyptic movie you didn’t sign up for, student loans, unaffordable rent, crazy expensive mochas your body nevertheless needs no-questions-asked, barely fine Tinder dates, sleepless Netflix binges, stressful jobs or the even more stressful absence of one, and lots other things nobody prepared us for.
So, dear adults, even though we can’t just get back to our childhood which equals devouring Harry Potter books and carelessly sleeping under the stairs, we can laugh at the absurdity we’re in right now. Scroll down through the best tweets that sum up adult life below and prepare to laugh and cry, and then laugh. Who cares, they already think of millennials as not very stable ones.
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Navigating through adulthood is the job of a lifetime. I have been an adult for more than a decade, and I am still learning to be one. I suspect I am not the only one. So I spoke with Francis Merson, the clinical psychologist awarded the Australian Psychology Society Prize in 2015, who was happy to share some very interesting and useful insights about it.
“People can often get stuck in patterns of behavior during childhood which persist into adulthood and prevent them developing true autonomy,” Francis said and added that there are many ways in which this can happen. “People who have been traumatized can internalize a victim identity, which makes it scary for them to act independently as adults. People who are emotionally neglected can also revert to child-like modes, where they rely excessively on partners and friends to help them deal with the world and their own emotions.”
It can also happen to people who are overindulged since they “might grow up with the expectation that others should sort out their lives for them,” Francis added.
Even though it might be easy to judge people who just can’t seem to adult properly, Francis argues that it’s important to be compassionate and remember that these people didn’t choose the early experiences that underpin their difficulties today.
More importantly, Francis argues that there’s no such thing as the perfect adult—“someone who is unfailingly responsible, rational and emotionally balanced. We all have moments when we act like kids: we get mad over trivial stuff; we panic needlessly; we sulk when we’re criticized.” Having said that, the clinical psychologist warned that “if these behaviors are the rule, rather than the exception, then it’s possible there are some roadblocks on the way to adulthood.”
It's mostly bills now... When I was younger I used to have penpals from around the world!
“And, of course, no one turns 18 and suddenly finds themselves fully rational, responsible and ready to smash all their life goals. The knowledge and skills involved in adulthood are accrued across the lifespan, gradually allowing you to become a more effective actor in the world, able to pursue your own interests while balancing them against the interests of others,” Francis said and added that essentially, we are all works in progress: becoming an adult is a lifelong pursuit. Meanwhile, “Immaturity happens when people are not progressing, when they are stuck in behaviors that aren’t helpful for them at their stage of life.”
There are many aspects of the transition into adulthood. Francis elaborated: “it means learning to act rationally, rather than just react emotionally. Adults also seek relationships of equality and reciprocity, rather than just someone to look after them. Adults are in touch with their values, and are proactive in reaching their goals. And adults are realistic, particularly about who they are. This requires gaining insight into one’s own motivations, behavior, emotional triggers, strengths and weaknesses.”
Those were the days....I could fall off the trampoline and land on my face but be totally fine but now I pull a shoulder muscle just from opening the shower door wrong.
And every little injury takes at least a week to heal
Load More Replies...My knees don't even work. One of these days I'm going to take a header down my stairs. I have to hang on to the rail like a little kid just in case one of them collapses.
Load More Replies...I can’t sit on the floor for 10 minutes without being in excruciating pain but when I was a kid I basically was always on the floor. I ate on the floor (with a tray table, not literally eating off the floor).
What about kneeling? Used do it at school for assembly, no problem. Now, the pain!!
Load More Replies...what's with all the bodily pain? in your 30s!! I didn't get that until I hit 40...ok 38, still
i just turned 26 and my back and knees are way more painful than they should be :))
Load More Replies...I fell out of a tree once. Got back up and climbed it some more. Now my back hurts if I sleep wrong.
In my early twenties a tree I was climbing fell over (roots had rotted) and pinned me under it. I managed to lift it up high enough with my legs to get free and all I had was a few scrapes. This past weekend I did half an hour of light gardening and I've been so sore I actually took a sick day to recover.
Load More Replies...I had to see a chiropractor twice a week for six weeks because of a sneeze.
Load More Replies...Ironically, I had rhumatoid arthritis as a kid, but with treatment I don't have it as an adult, so my back and joints don't hurt anymore!
"If you are over 50 and don't feel any pain when get up at morning, you are dead."
Eh, I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that obviously carried over into adulthood so the last time I remember being totally pain free and having some semblance of energy was before I turned 7. Then adulthood thought it'd be *really* funny to slap me with a couple more autoimmune disorders and here I am, 40 and feeling 90.
I've lupus sle and arthritis in my hands and feet. The pain is brutal. In my head i feel 19 and think i can hop out of bed until i try. I'm like a hippo on ice
Load More Replies...when ur a rhythmic gymnast (or do literally any other sport!) and there's always something that hurts
If you have a box spring, it may be time for a new one. Just because it still looks hard doesn't mean it is. Kneel on different sections to see if they sag. Don't just get a new mattress because you expected your box spring to last longer.
I was thinking the same thing! I actually just got a new mattress because my back is so whacked, and it really helps! Can put off surgery... yay!
Load More Replies...I am about to turn 30 and I can totally relate. The back pain is the worst.
I remember skateboarding and careening down paths on my bike sans helmet (no one wore protective gear back then). Now, I'm hesitant to use a stairway too quickly.
Just being able to work outside, walk all day, dance the night away without falling, "help I can't get up" then being in pain for a couple days...
I can remember sleeping like a log, bounding out of bed with endless energy, being physically active all day without tiring... now I can only do the first one.
Then at the grand old age of 17, bending down to pick up a tissue off the floor, the very first of many, "Oh s**t, me back's gone!!!" squeal...
Threw my back out reaching down for my shoes.....still went to work even though i could barely move.....that and not being able to get comfortable sitting on the floor like i use to.
I cant remember the last time my back did not hurt at least a little bit. Your saying it wasnt always like this?
After 7th grade, my back has been no good. Bad injury on my whole right side. Now, after re-injuring my back a half dozen times, I no longer feel pain. My back just stops working painlessly. It's like I can't perceive pain any more. It's depressing. I'm in my 40's and I need to learn to be careful now. I'm learning, but it's not going well. Heavy lifting is fine. It's just being slightly bent over that kills me. Pick up a hundred or so pounds off the floor? No problem. Move 40 lbs without my back straight and I'm done. I'll learn eventually.
I had terrible leg spasms and pain in my joints. I think it had to do with growth spurts. Some points I couldn't even walk or bend my knee and I'd just be standing in the middle of the sidewalk in agony. It would just spring on me out of nowhere.
Ugh! I’ve recently discovered that I can’t open my eyes wide enough to look surprised any more.
I’ve had random body pains all my life, starting in childhood. Now I have gotten to where I am working on being fit, exercising almost daily... and now it’s like I need to ask scientists if there’s some known condition where human bodies literally refuse to become fit, no matter what, revealing against any and all kinds of exercise. Still doing it, though. On the exercise bike right this moment.
I never suffered from back aches, and I am 60 so yeeha! Unfortunately, for me it's everything else that hurts.
Francis also noted that “it’s important to emphasize that the idea of independence in adulthood does not mean you don’t rely on others.” He explained that we are social animals, and we need each other to survive and flourish. “The independence of adulthood is more like the independence of a nation, which interacts with other nations on an equal footing, makes independent decisions and is responsible for its internal affairs.”
For those who think that adulthood is a lot of work, Francis says that it’s worth it. “What you get in return is the power to flourish on your own terms. By acting as a child in an adult world, it’s much harder to build a life you can be proud of,” the clinical psychologist concluded.
Take your pillow when you visit friends. They will not be insulted. They will understand
ya'll know im gonna hit up that lego section in walmart ^.^
I kind of lie there with one eye open - very dangerous if you’ve already turned off your alarm
If you're a musician, that's typically the best available career move, yes.
I love my mid afternoon naps. As a kid I found them boring, but as an adult I like to lay down for a half hour or so and snooze.
You actually subscribed? I always thought it just drops on your head like a brick
Without the drawer, they're in a pile. Without the pile, they're around the house. But they are NEVER in the trash because I need each one of the 18 chargers that work with nothing in my house. I just do.
Using a good pen has always brought me joy. Maybe I'm weird but I love stationary.
Well, I'm not an adult yet and I've read BP for long enough to realize that most adults in authority are kind of frauds haha. I have mastered the ability to guess what your childhood was like based on your behavior as an authoritative figure, ooooo *intense music as I open my third eye*
I truly am frightened on these multi lane hiways just stay to the right we gotta turn off somewhere!
Note: this post originally had 119 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
What makes me sad is that so many people are having such a hard time... living. And why are they all so sore? It's heartbreaking.
Load More Replies...You are in good company, ZAPanda. Would you like a hot chocolate?
Load More Replies...You know you are old when you can look back to when you were 50 and reminisce about when you were young.
Yeah, being an adult is damn hard, but I certainly do not miss my teen years.
Me neither but I miss my teenage body. Would love to trade it for that shipwreck of a body I have nowadays. 😅
Load More Replies...At age 46: unemployed and on Disability (sleep and PTSD, thanks to so-called healthcare and prior employers). Poverty. Alone most of the time. Hate where I live. Hate my house. Screwed up family. No friends local. Girlfriend is on the other end of the continent. This is not the life I was propagandized into believing was waiting for me as an adult. Hard work doesn’t accomplish shite without being born into a LOT of privilege. On top of all this adulthood disappointment is my ongoing realization (starting in my teens) that most adults are actually just idiot children in bigger bodies and professionalism is a goddamned joke. These are not the lies I was promised.
Seems to be a lot of people commenting on being adults in their 30's. Wait until you hit 50!
Wait until you hit your 40's. There should be classes or books available like those "Your changing body" ones for preteens.
In the UK there's a series of books for small children called 'That's not my dog/bear/cat' etc. There should be something for the middle-aged: 'That's not my face/hair/backside/husband'.
Load More Replies...And how excited you are when the new spatula looks great AND is easy to clean.
I had this awesome spatula years ago. It had a turner on one side and a scraper on the other. It melted one day and I went to go find another one and THEY STOPPED MAKING THEM! Why is it so hard to find the things that you have that wear out with the exact same one. Stupid fast fashion.
Load More Replies...When you hit 40 and you get more spam email and snail mail from AARP and burial planning insurance. Like they are saying hurry TF up and die.
My BIL was getting AARP mailers in his twenties. Who knows how it works?
Load More Replies...I’m in math class right now and my friends and i literally broke down with laughter looking at this while we were supposed to be doing work.
Sure, laugh at our pain now. When you're older one good laugh and you've dislocated a rib
Load More Replies...I’m not even an adult but I relate to almost all of these
Me as a kid: I can't wait to grow up. Me as a grown up to my kid's: wait till you all grow up and then you'll know why I'm the way I am.
I know it's easier said than done, but try to enjoy the present. If you spend your whole life trying to be older, you'll reach the end of your life never having enjoyed anything and there's no going back to the past.
Load More Replies...I'm 41 turning 42 and not only did I not have chance to come to terms with turning 40 (was in the middle of pandemic and didn't even get post at that point) but I nearly crashed the car when I was referred to as 'middle aged' by a younger relative 😳😲😫😢 At 18 I thought middle aged was 50-60!!
Yeah I was referred to as middle aged at 35. Was like…WTF? That’s about middle age so I am tobogganing down the other side of that slope😭
Load More Replies...The way the bast**ds keep changing the rules: you eventually learn how to make xyz work, the tricks and traps when it is replaced by uvw. You eventually find a reliable place to park and they bulldoze the area. You do the calculations for solar hot water during an El Nino year, then after installation it becomes a La Nina so water is never hot. You learn how to prune your apple tree and it dies. Get the fences in top notch order and the apple tree falls down and smashes it all. Work out to how to watch the tennis and the channels all change. Get the kids all used to a Thursday night get-together and they all install WhatsApp. Get all the kids moved out at the same time, redecorate the place and they want me in a retirement village.
If you think being an adult is bad, then you're going to hate being old. The one thing I was never prepared for is how completely and totally fücking irrelevant I am.
Adulting is feeling extra tired and thinking its just life stree till your doctors says no you have this and this defiency and recommends 2 new supplements to add to your life.
Anybody else notice that Bored Panda and Buzzfeed have begun posting the EXACT same articles as each other. Sometimes BP articles appear before appearing on BF within a couple of days and vice versa. Don't get me wrong, I use both sites to idly kill time but it is a little annoying.
I know many people have a hate for the use of "adulting" but I think it's perfect.
at least when you're an adult you dont need permission to buy that video game with the 18+ rating
At 80 y.o. I look back at my younger self, and can truly say I enjoyed my life as an adult. It did help, not being married, so I had only myself to care about. Enjoyed travelling when it was still affordable, and now enjoying my retirement years. I can't believe that this old body still has a mind of 40, folk in my retirement village are so OLD and boring, can't have a good conversation, oh well, I'll watch YouTube, nothing worthwhile on TV.
When I was 15 - 25 years old, I LOVED getting phone calls! Friends! Family! Parties! Good news! Now all the calls are robo calls, scams, people asking for money, people I don’t even like. And it’s my phone! I used to have to wait to use the family phone. Now I have one on me 24/7 and it’s not even worth picking up the call. And I get to pay for this, too!
From about 12 yrs old to 20 yrs old, I LOVED getting phone calls. Friends! Family! Parties! Fun! Now the calls are selling me something, some scam being tried or people I don't want to talk to. And it's MY PHONE! I don't even have to wait to use it or pay extra . . . but I'm really starting to hate it.
What makes me sad is that so many people are having such a hard time... living. And why are they all so sore? It's heartbreaking.
Load More Replies...You are in good company, ZAPanda. Would you like a hot chocolate?
Load More Replies...You know you are old when you can look back to when you were 50 and reminisce about when you were young.
Yeah, being an adult is damn hard, but I certainly do not miss my teen years.
Me neither but I miss my teenage body. Would love to trade it for that shipwreck of a body I have nowadays. 😅
Load More Replies...At age 46: unemployed and on Disability (sleep and PTSD, thanks to so-called healthcare and prior employers). Poverty. Alone most of the time. Hate where I live. Hate my house. Screwed up family. No friends local. Girlfriend is on the other end of the continent. This is not the life I was propagandized into believing was waiting for me as an adult. Hard work doesn’t accomplish shite without being born into a LOT of privilege. On top of all this adulthood disappointment is my ongoing realization (starting in my teens) that most adults are actually just idiot children in bigger bodies and professionalism is a goddamned joke. These are not the lies I was promised.
Seems to be a lot of people commenting on being adults in their 30's. Wait until you hit 50!
Wait until you hit your 40's. There should be classes or books available like those "Your changing body" ones for preteens.
In the UK there's a series of books for small children called 'That's not my dog/bear/cat' etc. There should be something for the middle-aged: 'That's not my face/hair/backside/husband'.
Load More Replies...And how excited you are when the new spatula looks great AND is easy to clean.
I had this awesome spatula years ago. It had a turner on one side and a scraper on the other. It melted one day and I went to go find another one and THEY STOPPED MAKING THEM! Why is it so hard to find the things that you have that wear out with the exact same one. Stupid fast fashion.
Load More Replies...When you hit 40 and you get more spam email and snail mail from AARP and burial planning insurance. Like they are saying hurry TF up and die.
My BIL was getting AARP mailers in his twenties. Who knows how it works?
Load More Replies...I’m in math class right now and my friends and i literally broke down with laughter looking at this while we were supposed to be doing work.
Sure, laugh at our pain now. When you're older one good laugh and you've dislocated a rib
Load More Replies...I’m not even an adult but I relate to almost all of these
Me as a kid: I can't wait to grow up. Me as a grown up to my kid's: wait till you all grow up and then you'll know why I'm the way I am.
I know it's easier said than done, but try to enjoy the present. If you spend your whole life trying to be older, you'll reach the end of your life never having enjoyed anything and there's no going back to the past.
Load More Replies...I'm 41 turning 42 and not only did I not have chance to come to terms with turning 40 (was in the middle of pandemic and didn't even get post at that point) but I nearly crashed the car when I was referred to as 'middle aged' by a younger relative 😳😲😫😢 At 18 I thought middle aged was 50-60!!
Yeah I was referred to as middle aged at 35. Was like…WTF? That’s about middle age so I am tobogganing down the other side of that slope😭
Load More Replies...The way the bast**ds keep changing the rules: you eventually learn how to make xyz work, the tricks and traps when it is replaced by uvw. You eventually find a reliable place to park and they bulldoze the area. You do the calculations for solar hot water during an El Nino year, then after installation it becomes a La Nina so water is never hot. You learn how to prune your apple tree and it dies. Get the fences in top notch order and the apple tree falls down and smashes it all. Work out to how to watch the tennis and the channels all change. Get the kids all used to a Thursday night get-together and they all install WhatsApp. Get all the kids moved out at the same time, redecorate the place and they want me in a retirement village.
If you think being an adult is bad, then you're going to hate being old. The one thing I was never prepared for is how completely and totally fücking irrelevant I am.
Adulting is feeling extra tired and thinking its just life stree till your doctors says no you have this and this defiency and recommends 2 new supplements to add to your life.
Anybody else notice that Bored Panda and Buzzfeed have begun posting the EXACT same articles as each other. Sometimes BP articles appear before appearing on BF within a couple of days and vice versa. Don't get me wrong, I use both sites to idly kill time but it is a little annoying.
I know many people have a hate for the use of "adulting" but I think it's perfect.
at least when you're an adult you dont need permission to buy that video game with the 18+ rating
At 80 y.o. I look back at my younger self, and can truly say I enjoyed my life as an adult. It did help, not being married, so I had only myself to care about. Enjoyed travelling when it was still affordable, and now enjoying my retirement years. I can't believe that this old body still has a mind of 40, folk in my retirement village are so OLD and boring, can't have a good conversation, oh well, I'll watch YouTube, nothing worthwhile on TV.
When I was 15 - 25 years old, I LOVED getting phone calls! Friends! Family! Parties! Good news! Now all the calls are robo calls, scams, people asking for money, people I don’t even like. And it’s my phone! I used to have to wait to use the family phone. Now I have one on me 24/7 and it’s not even worth picking up the call. And I get to pay for this, too!
From about 12 yrs old to 20 yrs old, I LOVED getting phone calls. Friends! Family! Parties! Fun! Now the calls are selling me something, some scam being tried or people I don't want to talk to. And it's MY PHONE! I don't even have to wait to use it or pay extra . . . but I'm really starting to hate it.