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Growing up is hard. Ask my fellow millennials who time and again dwell on childhood nostalgia by rewatching Harry Potter too many times to be considered appropriate for an adult, and flushing away the anxiety of the grown-up world with iced mochas.

Gen Z’ers are also resistant to becoming adults, and you may wonder why. While people tend to put blame on the way these generations are, researchers point out that it’s not a developmental stage; it’s the economy.

There’s even a corner of Reddit titled “Adulting,” dedicated to those who’re “actively trying to be more of an adult.” Created back in 2015, the community is sharing anything from tips, victories and questions related to the complex world of adulthood and trust me, it sometimes feels like a work of art.

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Michelle Line
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Especially shoeboxes. I have to go thru my "stash" every once in a while and take them out to the recycling bin. They always seem to be good to have to store misc stuff in, but I rarely do.

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There are plenty of reasons why some people don't want to grow up. For some, it's the fear of responsibility and the unknown. For others, it might be the comfort of childhood and the simplicity of life. And then there are those who just don't want to let go of the carefree days of youth.

No matter the reason, it's perfectly understandable why someone would want to hold on to their childhood for a little while longer. After all, growing up is hard work. And who can blame someone for wanting to take a break from all the adulting?

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Elio
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sadly accurate. Some of the same kids who were like this in high school are going down the insane Facebook conspiracy route.

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Others are doing the exact opposite and trying to find ways to grow up sooner and embrace their adulthood. The truth is it takes a lot to be a responsible, independent adult. It’s a good idea to start by accepting that adulthood is not perfect and that there will be ups and downs along the way.

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Another way to embrace your adult self is to not wait for someone else to make you happy – focus on finding joy in your own life. Taking responsibility for your own happiness is quintessential. At the same time, learning to manage your finances, the earlier the better, is very important.

The last tip may sound pretty boring, but you’ll thank us later. Being proactive about your health is a must. Try to improve your diet, add exercise in your life, and get regular checkups. Adulthood is the time when you realize that there’s nothing more important than your health and wellbeing.

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Deborah Harris
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then you have Rose and Jack on a piece of floating wreckage.... there was room for both of you!!!!

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Having said that, researchers have noted that youth these days seem to delay their transition to adulthood. According to Nancy E. Hill, a developmental psychologist at Harvard University, it has more to do with being able to transition to the workforce than the perceived apathy of youth.

“Young people reach adult milestones later when jobs that lead to financial independence are scarce or require additional training. The well-paying manufacturing jobs that were abundant in the 1950s did not exist in the 1890s. In the early 1900s, the U.S. transitioned from a largely agrarian economy to an industrialized one, and many young adults moved from rural to urban areas in search of modern industrial jobs,” she explained in The Atlantic.

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3 Owls In A Coat
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good. There’s no reason for this anymore in 2022. (And don’t come at me with “oh yeah but men are more _____ and ____ than women, and women will probably be on their periods or something and women can’t pick up heavy boxes while pregnant so let’s not pay them properly) or whatever the current argument is. Just no 😊)

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Having said that, Hill argues that young adults are not less mature today than in the past. “Neither are they necessarily more self-centered. A new developmental stage is not necessary to account for the extended time that many youth need to make the transition to adulthood,” she argues.

“Our findings tell us something important: When young adults take longer to achieve the markers of adulthood, it is not that something has changed about them; it is that the world has changed,” Hill concluded.

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Bella10
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I very occasionally read essays I wrote in high school and think, who tf wrote this?! That person is a genius and uses words I have to look up!

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Birgit M
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did this too! ….but not because I was excited about live, I was just overly scared to be unprepared for a special event.

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K W
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is really beautiful. Plus I'm high so I'm having a Keanu moment over how profound it is.

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#18

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Michelle Line
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was just thinking earlier today how I'd talk to my friends on the phone for hours when I was a kid. What in the world did we talk about for so long? Now I only answer the phone if it's my boss or a call I'm expecting.

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Jo314129
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my house it's the water bottles or cups of water. I have yet to catch the person named Noone that keeps leaving them everywhere.

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Danish Dynomummy
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought I was the only one getting excited over this...my SO keeps telling me I am lol

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Where’s The Shovel?
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My biggest realisation/adult moment was that the teaspoon I threw in the sink last night is still there in the morning.

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Octavia Hansen
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't remember the exact date and time when I went from "OH, BOY! The PHONE!" to "Damn, what now?" Haven't been excited about the phone for years now . . .

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#26

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When You Have A Big Project At Work But Choose To Reorganize Your Desk, Clean-Up Your Email, And Perfect Your Voicemail Greeting Instead

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I luv scuba diving!
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lol. Like, during the weekend, I start doing something I've been meaning to do. But I get side-tracked on so many tangents that at the end of the day, I find I never finished what I originally started out to do.

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Conversation With My Twin, Apparently We're Only The Same Age On Paper...

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Daffodil
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read the title as "Conversation with my toddler", safe to say I was concerned for a hot second

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3 Owls In A Coat
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I haven’t raw dogged some shuteye in way too long, I relate to this :(

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3 Owls In A Coat
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. Grew up with a friend that became a 2nd grade teacher at age 27 and she parties HARD, I’ve personally dragged her home at 2am like “you have to hang out with a bunch of 8 year olds tomorrow, you need your wits about you ” hahaha (before some of you start picking this apart, she’s fantastic honestly, definitely handles her business at all times and is very professional but just likes to live her life on the wild side)

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Jennik
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hate to break it to you, ditch pony, but assuming you're in reasonable health, and barring accidents, you are probably facing another 60+ years, not a mere 50. It's a life sentence!

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Timmy Pillinger
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Learn to play an instrument. Learn to sew. Learn to garden. Learn to dance.

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Bouche Clay
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one reminds me of a Family Circus comic. The little boy is sitting on his bed in his underwear and shirt, holding his pants on and he says, "You mean I have to get dressed every day for the rest of my life?"

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luvdemhogs
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Start doing some stuff..read, travel locally, walk, raise plants, learn a language, volunteer, go to garage sales..it helps

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John Borodin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No Darling you wait for it .....your knees go out ,your back ,you fart and poop with ease , your feet grow ,your earlobes have more hair than the top of your head you cough and have to run for the bathroom, thank God your still alive while father time starts picking off your friends other than that you pray that you remember where you put your teeth ,as well as remember you DONT have a cat , stay tuned for bol. 2,3,4,5,6,

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Collin Lyle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Watch St Elmo's Fire. It's about burnt out 20-something's trying to manage adulthood. It won't help or fix you, but the cast is full of beautiful people royally messing up their lives and putting the pieces back together-ish.

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John
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So I avoided work as much as I was able. I was single a good portion of my adult life and have no kids, so my life has been my own. Now that I'm retired, many things are so much better. I hardly have to drive places any more. I gas up every other month. If I want to sleep in, I do. If I want to stay up, I fall asleep. Aches and pains are worse but if it's too bad, screw getting out of bed. Life has been good.

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meerkatz007
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have 2,5 years until I retire. It will pass quickly, you may think. But imagine it's a prison sentence ... suddenly, 2,5 years seems a very long time!

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Adam
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't see anything in here about doing things for the kiddos. :)

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Ray McArdle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish that, before you were born, you learned how challenging future would be. Would you still choose to be born?

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Stymied Egan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even better, once you get older, all that stuff hurts to do it.

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Natalie H
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Have kids. That’ll take your mind off everything and you’ll have completely new things to b***h about every single day!! lol

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Tara Dawn
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1 year ago

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Shannon Mallory
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nor that I'm advocating it, just commenting, but this might be one of the plusses of being a parent, because you're busybusybusy and you *blink* and they've moved out and you're 50. Thinking from 50 to 70ish isn't *quite so daunting.

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InfectedVoiceBox
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

25 was the age that hangovers started actually hurting and you have to do all you can the previous night to avoid them (apart from drink loads of course) so drink water, eat food blah blah. Once you're past 25 eating is NOT cheating.

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Joshua Moore
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I told a good friend last week, this life is so emotionally and mentally exhausting and it would be so great to be able to get recharged in either department. I'm 44 and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. Just more being burnt out.

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Andrea Dockham
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Children. You have children. Then you look back at your 25 yo self and wish you had that much free time.

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Never Stop Learning
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You'd better find a way to SAVE $$$ or you will never be able to retire. So if you can save enough to live on in retirement, you get to do the same c**p every day, just like now. Get up, fight public battles to commute to work, then spread 8 hours or more at a job you hate. Find something you love to do, save for the retirement you want to live. P.S. Move out of your parents basement first!!!

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I luv scuba diving!
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1 year ago

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Michelle Line
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1 year ago

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#39

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Lazy Panda (she/her/hers)
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Having a healthy attitude just means thinking to yourself "At least this'll make a good story later" when something goes wrong.

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Luis Gomez
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

White boomers went to college for the price of an orange and were given a house for the price of a pineapple.

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Enlee Jones
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Been there, done that. Now I’m mad at myself for throwing away perfectly good Tupperware.

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Octavia Hansen
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know how my parents did it . . . 3 kids and no where near as many appliances as today. Yard work, cooking and laundry must have been continuous!

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Daffodil
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. Especially with the god-damned American school system. I know the meme's not about America specifically, but since I'm American and don't know what it's like elsewhere, I can only speak for myself. But the schools here just teach you how to make someone else richer, to conform, to work in a factory, and not to collaborate with others. I mean, there's hardly any other time in life outside of school that you'll be in a situation where you can't collaborate with others, so why not encourage it in school? They don't want you to succeed, they want you to conform. Anyways, fun rant :(

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