I graduate from high school in 3 weeks. We are having valedictory rehearsals every Monday. Adulthood always seemed a long way off because no matter how old I got, I was still “school-aged”. Now it seems a lot closer. In a few years I’ll have to stop referring to myself as a “girl”. I’ll have to earn my own money. People won’t be able to tell how old I am by looking anymore. Nobody will care how old I am. Nobody will yell at me to get back in my own lunch area. And to think 2 months ago I couldn’t wait to get out of here. I take it back. I TAKE IT BACK.
I can feel the gears shifting. This isn’t as seamless as I’d hoped
Yeah, there’s a nasty jolt in there, isn’t there? The whole senior year of high school for me felt like a boulder rolling down a muddy hill, gaining mass and momentum with each revolution. It was overwhelming. The good news is that they sell tater tots at the supermarket, and you’ll be able to buy and make them whenever you want.
I was living on my own for about a year before I realized that.
Seriously, you’ll be fine. It’s scary as hell, sometimes, but overall, being “a grownup” is much nicer than being an adolescent. Being 30 is way better than being 20. I’m told being 40 is way better than being 30, but I can’t say for sure.
The weird part of being older for me is that you still FEEL like a teenager, but somebody decided you were old enough to be let loose to do pretty much everything you couldn’t do when you actually were one.
Also, depending on the situation, I might still refer to myself as a girl, and I’m less than six months away from 30. Don’t worry about that. It still feels weird to refer to myself as a woman, because I feel about sixteen!
If it helps, csharpmajor, I was in your shoes just a couple of years ago. The whole world is open to you now. You can go to college, or run off with hippies, or get a job, or travel the world. And yeah, it doesn’t stop being scary. I’m going to turn twenty-one in December, and being on my own and earning my own money is still pretty scary. Don’t let your fear hold you down.
Suggestion…Make sure you have a phone number or Email address for everyone you care about, including underclassmen. ask them to put it in your yearbook when they sign it. I graduated 35 yrs. ago and have not seen or heard from alot of my High School Pals since that last day of school. They Vanished!
I checked the Viet Nam Wall and other friends and no one has heard from them. I did not come from the “Web” generation and they are not on Classmatesdotcom.
You only get one chance, once they join the Rat Race, it’s too late.
If it’s any comfort, I’m getting close to social security age, and I still feel this way sometimes. There’s a part of me inside that’s still about 16 years old (uncertain, a bit scared, skinny and shy). Wish I could painlessly get back the “skinny” part!
Yes, every girl in my year except me has been passing around friendship books, it seems. I’m too disorganised for that but I will definitely be collecting phone numbers from friends.
I don’t know if anyone makes these transitions seemlessly. There’s a lot going on and you have cause to be overwhelmed. Still, there’s no need to pretend you’ll miss things you didn’t like. Remember to take things slowly.
That second statement is probably true, but the first one is definitely not. I can’t speak from experience or anything, because I’m in about the same position you’re in, but I do believe it’s possible to stay childlike in some ways, as long as you do the necessary adult things (paying bills, obeying laws, and such). We don’t graduate until June, but I’m already thinking, “Wait! Not yet!”
I’ve been on my own for nearly 4 years now, and I still find myself wondering where along the line I ditched parents and how I did it without realizing so. It’s a strange thought that I do what a want, when I want. Once again, how did I get here?
Soon you’ll be forking over 95% of your income to people you’ve never met so that you can live a life looked at as mediocre by many and good by few.
At least that’s how I started. Welcome to the world, enjoy your stay.
If you changed you name to csharpaugmented you could get a job as a train horn, and be paid to travel around the country hauling interesting passengers and valuable freight from one fascinating community to another.
Remember to take things slowly.