Okay. So, I'm now at that age. I celebrated my 21st birthday on May 30th and I thought I'd share 21 thoughts and opinions on officially being an adult.

1. Fuck. I'm an adult
I can't ignore things for days on end anymore - using the "student" excuse or the "I'm only 20" excuse isn't going to fly with anyone. If I don't keep on top of things, they'll never get sorted. I feel as though I have an obligation to try and be more grown-up, so now, I'm folding more clothes, cleaning more surfaces and making the most of sticky-notes. It's a start.

2. I'm kind-of glad
As much as I'm in the adult phase and panicking about it, it can be used to my advantage. Those nights when you just need a cup of tea and your bed, but your wilder, more spontaneous friends want to meet for drinks in town - just pretend to be doing adult stuff. Anything along the lines of paperwork from work or tax documents or even blaming uni work is acceptable at the age of 21, ya know.

3. Do I really look that young?
Now, I know the law is challenge 25 but I think I look my age, if not, older. So when the man (I use the term "man" loosely. My local shop is basically ran by first-year university students) at Sainsbury's spends at least 5 minutes staring backwards and forwards from my ID photo to my face, it's going to piss me off. The novelty of having an ID has worn off now. Gimme my fucking wine and let me be.



4. Questioning my clothing
Now that I'm 21 does that mean office clothes and pyjamas for the rest of my life? I can't help but feel a little ridiculous when I leave my flat wearing something a little different and on-trend and see a bunch of school girls going for the same vibe. Am I that woman that's trying to stay cool? Should I quit whilst I'm ahead? Nah.

5. Money
Previously, I've literally not cared about money worries. I've not had many, but I've brushed them off and lived paycheque-to-paycheque. Now, I feel as though this is unacceptable and I'm constantly feeling upset and inadequate about it. Until - I remember that I'm a student and I don't have to be stressing over something as disposable as money. Get my degree, worry about the expenses after.


6. People
I used to get so caught up over the number of friends I had. This is such an immature way of looking at friendships. The phrase quality over quantity comes to mind. Very recently, I've managed to filter out negative people and false friends. I feel so much better for it and I wish that somebody would have given me a good shake a year or two ago. Stop worrying over people who don't care about you and have your best interests at heart. And, remember, you don't have to be at someone's beckon call 24/7. Friends allow friends to have their own lives, to do their own thing, as well as be there for them when it's most important. Getting caught up and caring about silly, immature, bitchy people is my biggest regret over the past couple of years - thankfully, I know better now.


7. Future plans
I look around and all I see if my friends getting engaged, having babies, planning weddings, expensive holidays etc etc. I start to compare myself a lot and I often have one of those "oh shit, I haven't got my life together" spirals. What keeps me grounded at times like these is knowing that everyone goes about life differently. Most of my friends who seem to have their life together haven't gone to uni... and that's fine. Most of them still live with their parents... and that's fine. I start to think, actually, yeah, I do have my shit together, just in a different way. I live on my own, I'm in a stable, long-term relationship, I work incredibly hard and I'm gaining an academic, worthwhile, pure science degree. I'm doing pretty well. Stop comparing your life with someone who has a completely different lifestyle and has made completely different life choices.

8. Being short for life
I've always relied on having a growth spurt in height before I turned 21. Now, I've got to come to terms with the fact that I'll be just over 5 foot for the rest of my life. My height is comething I was always really insecure about - mainly because other girls implied that it was sexy and feminine to be tall (which it completely, 100% is), but it's also equally as sexy and feminine to be short. This is a prime example of why you shouldn't compare body images. For years I thought that men wouldn't be attracted to a short, stumpy gal like me, but my boyfriend loves that I'm small and pint-sized. More importantly, I now love that I'm small and pint-sized. I am somewhat disappointed that I can't reach my top shelf in my bedroom or the top cupboard in my kitchen, though.

9. So much pressure
Now that I'm officially an adult, it seems that all other adults in my life (bar my mum) are asking me about my career, getting married, having children, buying a house, getting a mortgage, buying a car. What the helllllllllllllll? I don't think that most adults relise that in this generation, it's okay to not settle down straight away and spend time finding yourself and building a career. I might be 21, but I'm not ready to commit to anything drastic just yet. I'm happy, I'm in love, I'm doing me and I'm having fun. Isn't that enough?

10. It's OK to wing things
Despite common misconception, people at the age of 21 usually do not have their shit together and definitely aren't always prepared and educated about anything and everything. It's okay to wing things every once in while. Obviously, it's not okay to make a habit of it, but, ya know... Sometimes you just cannot be arsed with completing a presentation and so you skip the PowerPoint and stick with "flash cards" which happen to be blank and you're just bullshitting your way through an entire module at university. It's okay (or so I've been telling myself).


11. I still sleep with my teddy bears
I really don't think there's much explaining to be done and I'd rather just brush this off anyway. Me, Ellie the elephant and Sheepy the sheep are very comfortable with out level of maturity - thank you very much.

12. Birthdays are now just another day
That's it. The celebrations are over. Every milestone you celebrate from now on will just be a reminder that you're old. You're basically nearly 40 already which is half-way to 80 and then you're either dead or nearly dead. Nice thought.

13. You're no longer teetering on the teenage/adulthood barrier
You're full adult. Which only means one thing. You'll never be able to sing this song without actually being a teenager/20-which-is-basically-a-teenager-anyway:


14. But, next year you'll be able to sing this...
...yay?


15. Big decisions require thought 
Yes. Thought and justification are a real thing in the real adult world. No more eeny meeny miny mo or rock paper scissors. You have to break down every decision in life and figure out what's going to benefit you and the people you care about the most. It's almost enough to amke me want to curl up into a big duvet ball and sleep until 2026.

16. I'm sure beans on toast is healthy
Apparently not. But, it's totally okay to still be scrimping money and eating student meals for however many years. Don't let anyone tell you that chessey bean toasties aren't a proper meal becuase THEY ARE.

17. Mug mountain on your bedside table
I do it. I'm sure we all do, to an extent. My mug mountain currently consists of three mugs, a glass and a champagne flute. It's totally acceptable to be a bit messy here and there. So what if you have a floordrobe instead of a wardrobe?

18. Caffeine consumption rockets
Even when I've got nothing planned for the day, I'll still fuel myself with copious amounts of tea and coffee. Just becuase... life.


19. Having a bed time is suddenly a sensible idea which makes you happy
I loooove sleeping; so I aim to do as much of it as I possibly can in between a social life, a part time job, my blog work, doctors appointments, etc etc. Having a set bed time is heavenly and allows me to not only get some sort of routine into my life but get enough sleep - she types, at 1:20am.


20. The morning after
I swear it's true. Hangovers get worse with age. Although mine have never really been that bad in comparison to other people (not because I've never gotten completey smashed - I just never really felt the hangover effects too much), but my goodness, they are really coing down heavy with age. All I'm saying is: stock up on Lucozade and fry-up ingredients prior to a sesh and you'll be forever sorted.

21. Don't waste your time
I love chilling out. There's nothing better than doing nothing. But, when I think about all the time that's passed since a certain event in my life, I think... fuck. Where has time gone? I was sixteen when I met Jerome. SIXTEEN. How bizarre that I've known him for five years. It feels like two minutes since our first date. Within the past few years, I've seen a lot of my friends grow and flourish. I've also seen friends pass away, I've seen friends make foolish decisions and I've seen them be utterly wreckless. The only thing I can take away from looknig back on the past few years is that it's so important to cherish every moment you have with someone you care about. Even if it's the little things, like watching a movie. Be thankful, becuase you never know what's around the corner.

That's all for now. Let me know if any of you are turning 21 soon, or if you've already turned 21 and you want to share your funny moments and thoughts! xo

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