Rather, what’s the definition of “grown-up”?
This post is inspired by a brief conversation with my friend Ty, this morning. He asked me what the definition of ” grown-up”…and I gave kind of a blanket answer: minding your business and handling your own, paying your bills, being responsible- and if you have others who you are responsible to (ie: kids, spouse, etc.), then taking care of that.
Then Ty gave me the list of the things that he has heard defines being a “grown-up”:
- When you stop chasing women
- When you start taking in account the opinion of others
- It’s a mind state
- When your life gets boring
- When you have your first kid
- When you get your first job
- As soon as you’re done with school
We also talked about the fact that some people are forced to grow up due to circumstances in their life, and that being a “grown up” doesn’t equate to maturity- and neither does age.
Ty expressed that he’s more so concerned with the stereotype of being an adult- and how it seems that adults have no fun. They just work Monday-Friday, have family time on the weekends, and a week of vacation in the summer. Otherwise, it’s a pretty monotonous life.
So…when are you grown up…and what’s the definition of being grown up?
life beyond the well... 
May 30, 2008 at 12:49 am
Wow, Thinking off top, a few to add/consider….
-At Work/Financially you open a 401K or 403 B Plan (teachers)-instead of simply cashing the whole thing!
-Wedding invites start popping up in your mail (yikes)
-Most of your time spent in front of a computer is “actually” intended for the puposes of work. (oh my)
-Summer Vacation is gone, instead you simply have two weeks or grad school (teachers)
-More partying/social gatherings during the week (i.e.-company/co-worker happy hours, events, etc…) whereas the weekend is spent running errands, resting etc…
May 30, 2008 at 5:54 pm
What a great post. It’s funny because it’s kind of like this idea of “when you’re here, you’re there.” Sometimes, you’ve become an adult and you didn’t even know it. It’s like Cedric the Entertainer said on Kings of Comedy, “You know, when you realize, that you’re a grown *ss man… you just don’t do certain stuff anymore.”
So maybe, arguably, these are three do’s and don’ts of adulthood:
Do’s
1) You pay your bills…on time…consistently. (Financial responsibility)
2) You start thinking about plans for your parents and/or older family members
3) You pack your lunches instead of eating out…even if you can afford to eat out.
Don’ts
1) I’m sorry, but playstation, xbox, or other video games as a consistent hobby are out of the question.
2) Keeping up with the jones’. Live below your means, folks, let’s talk about delayed gratification.
3) Start something and not finish it because you feel like it. And on that same note, you also don’t continue to rack up “learning experiences.” Instead, you try to minimize your mistakes.
Ok, that’s all for now. Again, great post Erin!
May 31, 2008 at 7:06 pm
When you start paying ALL your bills that your salary allows you to pay — you’re grown.
June 2, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I agree with rell…when you are on your own, doin your own thing, payin your bills, and handling grown folks business on your own…there’s a reason they call it grown folks business.