Growing up: 3 major misconstructions & why it's great to be a unico... erm, adult

3 min. read.

A few days ago, I stumbled on the quote "Never grow up. It's a trap!". I cannot tell you what upset me more a) life advices from semi-conscious people who aren't in peace with themselves or b) the amount of individuals who agreed to this imbecile victim strategy on social media... Hm. And now? Instead of - once again - doubting the intelligence of modern civilization, I decided to spread awareness and write a short article about the topic growing up and common misconstructions related to it.

1.Growing up vs. growing old & lame

Growing up does NOT mean that you cannot be happy and have fun. It also does NOT mean that you have to live a boring life full of routines, monotony and do what everyone else does. Growing up means taking on responsibility for your own life. Being honest to yourself. About who you are, what you want and need. This is freedom and nothing to be afraid of. You can still watch Disney movies (some of them are brilliant social criticism!), "shuffle everyday" and believe in unicorns. Stop listening to what people tell you (not) to do and start figuring out what YOU want to do. An example: You do not want to start a family? - Don't do it! You want to travel and explore the world instead? - Save money, plan the trip and travel! Being aware of your dreams is the foundation for sustainable, long-term happiness and growing up allows you to actively work on it.

2.Age doesn't define maturity

Some people grow up in their late 20s, some in their 60s and some never grow up. How do we handle this situation? I suggest the following: We need to rethink the correlation between age and maturity. Why? Because we mature with experiences in life and the lessons we learn. The good ones and the bad ones, which means that we do NOT necessarily mature with the years we spend on this planet. So in order to mature, we need to go out there and gain experiences, make mistakes. We need to give ourselves time to explore our identities, values and needs (which change with the years). Furthermore, we need to stop expecting miracles just because we turned 21, 30 or 50. These are just numbers we romanticize a bit too much/put on a pedestal.

3.Everything used to (forget it!) -> WILL be better 

Some individuals are afraid of growing up because media and blockbusters do an excellent good job in showing us that the future will be horrible. We're going to face pain, struggle money-wise, turn ugly and die lonely deaths... yeah, right. If you do ONE task for your future self daily, imagine how your future will look like... Exactly. Fabulous! So stop worrying and get into action. Here a few areas to focus on: A healthy diet, exercising, enough sleep, great relationships, investing in your education, saving money, giving back.

Conclusion

Yes, growing up takes courage; and action. But nothing great comes easy and happens over night. Growing up gives you the fantastic chance to become who you REALLY are, not what people, your family, society etc. want(s) you to be. Have the guts to say no to drama, no to the pressure of fitting in and stop living to impress anybody else but the person you see in the mirror. Good luck!