This summer I embarked on my journey into adulthood. I’m not going to lie: it was super scary. The minute my mom left to go back home after helping me unpack and settle into my new apartment, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Should I get a good night’s sleep, start meal prepping (whatever that is), or enjoy my new life of independence? While I felt as though I was very independent while living with my parents in high school, it felt different to have to be independent in my own apartment. If you are in a similar position to this, here are a couple things I wish I had known before I had started adulting.

1. Feeding yourself

I had grown up in a household with a communal fridge – everyone in the family would take turns grocery shopping, so there was always something in the fridge to eat, even if I wasn’t the one who had to get it from the store. Living on my own meant that every time I needed to eat, I had to face the perplexing task of grocery shopping and deciding between ‘low-fat’ and ‘reduced-fat’ options. I quickly stocked up on ramen noodles and Eggo waffles and learned to appreciate websites telling me about ‘10 quick and easy crock pot recipes’.

2. Budgeting

Between paying my electric and water bills, my rent, my groceries, and wanting to have fun hanging out with my friends, my expenses built up very quickly in the first month. Even though I was told as a kid that money doesn’t grow on trees, I didn’t realize how expensive being an adult was. At the ripe age of 19 years old, I suddenly turned into my parents complaining about the price of gas and groceries every five minutes. 

3. Trying to be productive

When I was a kid, living on my own meant that I could do whatever I wanted. I could stay in bed all day and watch Netflix. But the chores around my apartment that my mom used to badger me about quickly built up. There were dishes in the sink, I was way behind on my laundry, and the state of my bedroom left something to be desired. I was so caught up in the freedom of living on my own, that I forgot that I was an adult with responsibilities. 

All in all, living on your own for the first time is a roller coaster ride filled with many mistakes, unexpected challenges, and invaluable life lessons. However, there are some things you can do to prepare yourself for your own adventure in adulting to make it a bit easier. First things first, try to learn some basic life skills. Things like becoming comfortable with making foods beyond instant noodles and frozen dishes (your body will thank you later) and learning how to clean your apartment in the most basic way and actually keeping up with cleaning it on a regular basis are underrated skills. Secondly, be confident and celebrate the small victories. Adulting can be hard sometimes and it’s easy to get bogged down with everything that goes wrong. However, it is important to remember to take pride in the small victories, whether it’s successfully making a new recipe, budgeting your finances efficiently, or even just completing your laundry for the week. Finally, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help! Almost everybody has gone through their own adventure in adulting and are willing to help a young adult just beginning their adventure. Now that you are ready to go forth and successfully complete your adventure into adulting, good luck!