"I'm an adult now!" Tell us your moment.

We all have that one defining moment where we realize we are an adult, or when we have reached another level of maturity.

Mine was: Shortly after my 24th birthday, I was feeling pretty miserable about my life and life in general, the stress of the mundane everyday had me down. Then I realized, I don't have to live this way, I can make my life my own if I work hard enough. And that was it, it got the ball moving for me to move on to another chapter of my life, so now I am ready to start MY life in a new place and face all those challenges that come with taking a chance. For once I made a sound decision, not on a whim or because I am avoiding something... awesome!

What was yours? From the silly to the serious and everything in between, from grand moments to simple quiet ones, Please share!

mine has been recently and I am 29. I realize the importance of having good friends and family. Working to make your life great. I am half way to getting a bachelors degree. I am on my way to finding out how to make life work for me and aiming higher in both the relationship and the career arenas.

When I started paying my own bills

I can't truly say that I'm an adult yet. I still am awfully young. However, I didn't realize it was some sort of epiphany like that. After reading your story, I greatly look forward to my defining moment. It'll probably be a while off though, I still have a lot of growing to do (And how I wish it was height based).

First night in my apartment when I moved in by myself. I had been on my own from family for a few years at that point, but always with roommates.

The first night, I was surrounded by boxes and the apartment was so quiet. It seemed like the most silent moment of my life. I was just thinking about all the stuff that, if I didn't do it, it wouldn't get done. Bills, laundry, taking out the trash, everything was my responsibility now. God, I miss living alone.

For me it was my second summer out of high school. A buddy and I had arranged to stay at a buddies guest house over the summer while everyone was back from college.

I just came home one day, told my parents I was moving out of the summer, and grabbed my stuff.

I can't truly say that I'm an adult yet. I still am awfully young. However, I didn't realize it was some sort of epiphany like that. After reading your story, I greatly look forward to my defining moment. It'll probably be a while off though, I still have a lot of growing to do (And how I wish it was height based).

i didn't have a "defining" moment..i had a series of several moments over time where i felt like i had matured...

i believe there are different levels of maturity ... one level is to be responsible for yourself financially, living on your own, taking care of your own needs etc... then the other level is emotional maturity ...where you handle situations maturely ... like a disagreement with your parents or your friends, feeling good being alone, making decisions about your life without worrying what others will think and so on.

I once called in sick to surf and my pay suffered. Could hardly afford to get good food the next week. I had to live on cup O noodles for a week.

When my son was born, for just a moment, I thought maybe I was finally feeling it. Thankfully, it was just a brief episode of delusion.

I think I'll always be something of a kid inside.

When I got excited about buying large appliances !

Hooray, my brand new fridge !!!!

When I got to the US. I came over here for college when I was 18.

I was setting at the airport waiting for a taxi and it suddenly hit me that everyone I know is on the other side of the world. I felt both lonely and liberated.

For me, it has been a gradual process. Life is a series of epiphanies, or moments when the lightbulb goes on in our heads. I suppose the definition of feeling and being an adult is when we take full responsibilities for our actions and no longer blame things on someone else. Most things that happen to us in life are a result of some decision we made recently or in the past. When we realize that, we are a mature adult.

I see life as a series of phases, but I don't think any one of them is a defining moment. For example, when I was a kid, I'd be into 16 mm film, Charlotte's Web movie, and Super 8 mm movie and I'd be head-strong that I would be a traitor if I ever went to VHS video format. That was back in the late 80's when the projection film was almost totally replaced by the video. Now, I don't care, I just look at DVD's from my laptop or computer and look at clips on Youtube, or make my own digital movies to put them on DVD or upload to youtube. I lost interest sometime around 1992 in film.

Another phase I can remember was when I was deeply spiritual and wanted to know more about God. This was when I was 17 years old. I consider this spiritual maturity about the things of God to have really been a defining point spiritually, but it seems that I have gone down from that maturity level since then, so I would probably have been more of an adult then than I am now at least conserning the things of God. But that was a defining point spiritually, at least on my identity.

When I said I didn't want to go to a bar because it was "too loud" there.

Not only did I turn into an adult- I turned into my grandmother! I skipped whole decades and became a senior citizen as soon as I made that lame statement.

When I got excited about buying large appliances !

 

 

Hooray, my brand new fridge !!!!

LOL...it never happens. I may have brief moments where I feel grown up but too many kiddy type things still excite me. I'd rather play with a new toy than fix the roof.

I think I am an adult that acts like a kid.

Not a kid that acts like an adult and I think there is a difference.

I think general disappointment did it for me.

Still waiting for that moment.

THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT!

Wow what a spectrum!

I really enjoyed reading all of them!

I guess there is no one defining factor that makes someone feel like an adult, I guess it's about being responsible for your actions and taking pride in who you are. Sounds good to me!

I wish you all the best and continue growing!

-PJ

Recently got my first home, and for me it is ever so often, the realization that I have a place that is solid and real (moved around a ton growing up)...

Still don't feel like it was any a-ha moment though! I'm not too grown up.

when a few of my friends and i rented a house...we couldn't believe it, a HOUSE

There's been little things along the way (I don't think I'll ever grow up fully)....

One that jumps out at me was the day I bought my first piece of furniture - brand new. It was a bed and man did I love it. I think I was 23.

So many of these stories strike a chord, because I go - I remember that: first night in my own apartment, getting off the plane realizing I left everyone I loved half way accross the country, paying (and not paying) my bills (and getting the nasty phone calls reminding me I haven't paid). The list goes on.

i didn't have a "defining" moment..i had a series of several moments over time where i felt like i had matured...

i have to agree with this.

one of those moments was when i started my final year in college, and i thought to myself after this year, i'll be doing a hard yakka just to pay my student loans and all that. it's not the expenses per se, but the realisation that i will have a heap of responsibilities that made me think about this.

but there are a lot of those moments really. sometimes, even seeing some of my mates does it.