My Slow Paced Journey to Adulthood

Do you remember thinking when you were little that people in their mid 20's were real grown ups?

LOL. Stop it. I can't believe I ever thought that. I honestly thought I would be married by now with kids. I thought 28 was OLD. Gah, so naive.

I mean, I'm sure there are some people in their mid 20's that really have their shit together. They have the good jobs, the stable relationships, the nice homes. They just might have it all. And good for them!

But me? Ehhh...not so much. Let's see, I've been ghosted in my past two relationships, I just started a new job in a new field a month ago because my previous job got eliminated out of the blue (thanks a lot Belk Corporate #hateyourguts), and I'm currently sitting on my couch after watching Game of Thrones for the past 4 hours worrying that I might have contracted some 17th century disease from my roommate since my throat is feeling a little funny.

(Clarification: My roommate went to Cuba last weekend and she came back with a touch of E. Coli.) 

So I guess it's safe to say I don't completely have my shit together. But it could be worse, I guess. I could still be jobless. I could still be with a guy who never once complimented me in all the months we were together. My internet could have been spotty today hindering my binge fest of a night. I could have E. Coli...

Yes, life could definitely be worse.

As of now, as a 26 year old, I feel like I'm maybe just a little over half way to adulthood. Like, I'm not a complete lost cause, but I still don't really understand how health insurance works nor do I separate my laundry into multiple loads. And that's okay, I think. I have time. Really, all I have is time. Everyone talks about how short life is, but it's literally the longest thing you do. So don't stress.

I firmly believe that everyone moves at their own pace, and I've always been a bit of a late bloomer myself. I can't be forced or rushed into making things happen. For instance, when I was younger I didn't feel the need to rush and get my license like everyone else. I just didn't really care about it. My dad taught me how to drive his stick shift car when I was 12 years old down some old country roads. But I didn't have a car, and my parents told me they weren't helping me get a car, so I just wasn't overly concerned with getting my license. However, one day my mom decided for me that I was going to go to the DMV and take my driving test. I hadn't practiced at all, but she told me I was going that day, so I went.

Needless to say, I failed. I failed miserably. As in only made it through half the test before the instructor told me to drive back to the DMV and wait another 2 weeks to try again. They only tell that to the really pathetic drivers, so if I didn't feel sad and miserable before, I definitely did after that. I cried the whole way home. Not only because I felt like a total loser, but because I knew I wasn't ready or prepared. And I hate that feeling.

So moral of the story, do life at your own pace. Just because your old sorority sister is married with 2 kids and the perfect cookie cutter life that she posts all over instagram, doesn't mean that life is for you or that you'll never get that life. It just means you're not ready yet, and that's okay.

And I finally did get my license by the way, and now I parallel park like a damn champ.