Initially, I planned to write some beautiful, inspiring piece on adulthood. But you know what? I’m not sure how. Right now I’m sitting here, playing FIFA while typing. I couldn’t even set aside the time to focus on one piece of writing and procrastinated to the point of doing this the night before the submission deadline! Here I am, at 21, in my final year of a double degree, playing FIFA like it’s the most important thing in the world. Unfortunately, FIFA has to wait sometimes, because I have to act like an adult.
At different points in life there are different things that are important. We all have a moment when you look back on something and think how easy it really was, but at the time it was the toughest thing ever. My current challenge is finding a new job, and not just a job, that horrible thing known as… a career. ARGH NO, I DON’T WANNA. Well, actually I do. I like the idea of a stable career, something that I can learn from and continually improve in, and hopefully make a difference with. That’s why I chose journalism, because I know I can write and get my voice out there. In a way I’m lucky because I can write, and I’d like to think I can write well, but it’s not easy getting out there. You have to fight for it, and a lot of the time you need experience, and to get that experience you need to have experience…
It’s a shame life gets harder as you get older. More choices have to be made and more questions answered. They’re tough decisions as well, not just deciding what flavoured Paddle Pop to eat (correct answer is all of them, at once). As a kid, even in high school, parents made your choices, or you had friends to help. Independence means your own path, and your own decisions. I’m finally starting to understand what is best for me, and working on those key adult skills of budgeting and time management. Actually, I lie, I suck at time management, although I will never say that in a resume, and my budgeting skills are good until it comes to food, then my money is just flying out faster than Usain Bolt on a treadmill. They are things I will learn, though, unlike how to run as fast as Usain Bolt, because I have short legs.
Is it time to be an adult now? Should I stop watching Disney? I mean, I don’t watch that… But the best things do remind me of my time as a kid. I’ll probably never stop watching The Simpsons because of those memories of excitedly catching the new episode each week, and to this day I never get bored of a repeat. Just recently, I saw Jurassic World and it reminded me of all the times I saw the original movies on TV. There was no high definition, we could only avoid ads if we rented it from Blockbuster, and watching it would definitely mean staying up late past 11pm. Now every night is a late night and assignments, never-ending. Sometimes it feels hard to relax, but I know now I am the one who has to choose to take some time to relax.
Maybe one day I’ll be panicking to finish some work, but the next I could be playing mini golf. Maybe I’m cleaning the garage one minute, and the next racing my girlfriend on the old scooters I found. Imagine, adults, doing adult things, pushing themselves along on a scooter. Is that weird? Probably, but it’d be fun. At the end of this year I’ll have a degree and possibly a fancy career lined up. I’ll also have the chance to watch all the shows from my childhood at will, and ride around on a scooter whenever I want. The future may be scary, but I’ll be happy to take it on, because I know there will be some brilliant moments that I will always remember. I’m not sure if I will make a good adult; I can’t even play FIFA that well. But who said you have to adult well, to adult? Actually, I don’t think anyone ever said that because that’s a pretty average use of language. Still, you can only learn by experience, and just like jobs, you can’t really get experience as an adult without being one, so hopefully everything will work out. If it doesn’t, look out for the guy with a HECS debt, scootering around Adelaide complaining about how he keeps going back to FIFA. And yes, for those wanting to know, I lost my FIFA match.
Words by Alexander Jacobs
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