Adulthood without a filter

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1 - What has been the most difficult thing to accept in adult life?

One thing I was never ready for was how quiet adulthood can feel. I grew up believing grown people always know what to do, but when I reached here I find out veritas (truth) different. Everybody guessing. Some days it feels like I’m still twelve, lost in a big market without direction. It hurt to know nobody will come hold your hand, you just push yourself forward. The silence of making choices without guide, that was heavy for me.

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2 - What responsibilities did you not imagine would be so heavy?

Money, oh my head. Rent doesn’t forgive, bills knock like soldiers. I thought paying light bill was a small thing until I started paying it myself. Then food prices join the fight. And family too—helping mother, sometimes cousins, and pretending you're strong even when your pocket crying. Deus meus (my God), that weight didn’t look so big from far away. Carrying it daily, you feel the stone pressing your back.

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3 - Do you think that being an adult is as “free” as it was portrayed to you as a child?

I swear they lied to us. Childhood, I thought being an adult meant sleeping when you like, eating cake for breakfast, traveling anywhere. But adulthood freedom is kind of fake. You are free, yes, but tied with invisible rope. Work holds you, bills chain you, expectations drag you. Libertas (freedom) is real, but it’s the kind that come with long conditions written in small letters.

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4 - What things do you continue to do as a teenager despite your age?

Sometimes I dance alone and in most cases sing alone in my room like I’m at a party that nobody invited me. I wear that hoodie from long ago, the one torn but still fits like memory. I laugh till tears come out at silly jokes online. My snacks become dinner when I'm too tired of cooking. That side of me refuse to age, like some piece of my teenage years live inside me, shouting “don’t grow too serious.”

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5 - What adult responsibilities do you avoid as if you were still 15 years old?

Hospitals scare me still. When I feel sick I whisper, “it will pass, let me sleep.” Paperwork sits untouched till deadline come running. Taxes, oh don’t even mention, I treat it like homework I forgot on purpose. I escape, fuga (flight), like I'm still young. Facing those things make me sweat more than exams did back then.

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7 - Why do you think many people resist “growing up” or prefer to live as if they were eternally young?

Because growing up means remembering you will one day end. Childhood tricked us into thinking life stretch forever. Aeternitas (eternity) is only for dreams, not flesh. People hold on to youth because it feels like a shield from time. Joy of young age, the loud laughter, the careless nights—it’s hard to release. Adult life tastes bitter sometimes, and youth was sweet. Who want to drop sugar for stone?

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8 - Is it bad to maintain adolescent attitudes as an adult? Why or why not?

Not everything is wrong. Some teenage habits, they save you. Curiosity makes you learn, energy makes you move, joy keeps your spirit bright. But when stubbornness, selfishness, careless living stays, it burns you down. Balance matter. In medio stat virtus (virtue stands in the middle). Too much child inside an adult can break, but losing that child fully makes life colorless.

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9- If you could give your teenage self some advice about adulthood, what would you say?

I will sit my young self down, hold his shoulders and say, “listen boy, don’t rush into wanting to be old. It’s not the paradise you think.” I’ll tell him, save a little money even if it feels useless, becausein the future you will need it. I’ll say, carpe diem (seize the day), yes, but never forget tomorrow. I’ll warn him, heartbreak will come, work will drain, friends will disappear, but you will survive it. I’ll remind him to laugh, to love himself loud, because the world won’t always clap for him. And most of all, I will whisper, “you're strong, stronger than you think, but don’t carry the whole earth alone.”

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Adulthood is a very long road, sometimes it's bright, sometimes it's dark. Nobody told me it would feel like both prison and playground all together. Memento vivere (remember to live), I say to myself now. Because even inside the heavy stones of bills, duties, growing pains, the child inside still asks for sunlight. And maybe that’s the only way to survive.

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I invite @promisezella @etoro @imohmitch to participate in this contest

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Cc,
@josevas217

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