Young Adult with Adult Responsibility
“Young adults in their late 20s are confronted by so many choices — there are so many different paths to choose. Sometimes I think we just fill our lives with stuff so we don’t really make any choice at all, which is certainly incredibly luxurious” —Rachael Taylor (Australian actress)
According to Wikipedia, “Young adults” are people ranging in age from their late teens or early twenties to their thirties. A stage in human development that precedes middle adulthood. By that definition, I’m a young adult.
Being a young adult in this era, in my opinion — is hard. We have so much on our plate to think about. We are in a place where we first taste the work-life, the start of our career. We tend to not want to get stuck in our job if we feel we don’t improve anymore. We also have to think about our own place whether it’s a house, flat, or apartment. It’s the period when we have to think about whether we want to start a family. If yes, then searching for one soulmate will become a mission for some of us. The issue we encounter now has become more complex ranging from finance, relationship, and work stuff — but at the same time, we still want to do our hobbies, constantly learning and improving ourselves, and hanging out with some of our best friends.
Being a young adult is hard, but being a young adult where you have to be THE adult is excruciating.
There are some young adults who are forced to be an adult at such ages cause the condition requires them to do so. If they have incompetent parents, means they have to step up to become the “head” of the family. If they are the financial backbone, they basically already have “dependents” that they have to look out for. For any issue or problem, they will be the first to be asked for opinions and suggestions and then expected to get their hands on solving it.
These young adults, not only do they have problems that most of the young adults have, but they also have other extra “baggage” that they have to deal with. They rarely have the time to think about themselves, or even have a plan for their future. Some delay looking for a spouse cause they have too much already and don’t want to add another relationship drama. Not to mention family drama and let’s be honest… will always be there in any family.
Sometimes I wish I can delay the time so that I can delay being a young adult with adult responsibilities. But we all know time doesn’t work that way, and I have to suck it up.
For those of you who are also young adults but with a responsibility of an adult, I just wanna say that… I know what you feel. I know it feels cramped like you’ve got no air left to breathe and you don’t have time for yourselves cause you have to manage everyone and everything. I get the feeling of not having the freedom of thinking just for yourselves cause you have to consider others as well. I know you’re scared about your future, of your plan might not getting realize cause you have other responsibilities to prioritize first. I know the feeling of wanting to do something you want to but you have to think about your responsibility as someone who has a lot of people depending on you. I know… but sadly we don’t have a choice. This is our life whether we like it or not.
I just want you to know that you are not alone. There are many of us out there. You’re not the only “unlucky ones”. So if you ever thought of quitting or you are feeling exhausted, remember that it’s not only you. If you’re at your limit and you feel that you can’t take this anymore, don’t be ashamed to take a step back. You can be selfish for once and take a vacation. You can talk to your close friends about it. Share your burden with them cause that’s what friends do. You can “buy” your hobby whether it’s a product or experience.
Being a young adult is hard, but being a young adult where you have to be THE adult is excruciating… just suck it up, embrace it, and do the best you can.
