HAVE you ever wondered how life has drastically changed for adults in an instant?
As a child, we can freely weep loudly but elderly people will stop us and tell us, “malayo sa bituka ‘yan.” Little by little, from someone who cries out loud over the pain caused by small wounds, we end up becoming individuals who are now incapable of expressing how we feel. Then people will urge us to be more open, not realizing it’s difficult to get off habits we’ve been honing ourselves into.
Adulthood is once a fantasy. Until we step in the earliest phase only to realize, it’s not as fascinating as we thought it would be. As a child, we’ve overlooked so many privileges we are now wishing to be spared with as adults. Rest, sleep, nap or even getting the chance to do what we want—are all childhood benefits we feel like we are being deprived of as adults.
Adulthood is way more demanding than childhood. The things we were told to do used to feel like a punishment, but now they are all added to our prayers, hoping we can enjoy them a little bit longer.
That includes genuinely living—to live with ease and not to feel as if we are just programmed to comply with the daily responsibilities we are required to do. To live beyond showing up, and to be allowed to show-up with a hundred percent willingness rather than to be present half-heartedly.
Bills to pay
One of the fulfilling signs people consider to finally call themselves an “adult” is when they independently pay their bills. Indeed, it is a manifestation of adulthood, taking on responsibilities at home.
However, the realization that you’ll be spending a lifetime paying bills can be exhausting once you realize you’re not earning enough. The privilege once perceived becomes an instant burden, and if you are struggling with managing your finances well, the bills you have to pay may lead you into a series of debts.
Show up, you’re in charge
Has your alarm clock made a desperate attempt to wake you up, only to successfully do so but your body refuses to get up since you want more minutes turned hours to extend your sleep? That is the reality of adulthood. You are forced to show up even if you don’t feel like it.
If you’re studying, refusing to wake up on time may get you stuck in the traffic, missing out on important lectures and examinations you have supposedly taken. If you are already working, being late will lead to money loss. You’re paid for every tick of the clock. Consistent hours and days of not making it on time is a financial loss on your part.
What’s worse? This financial loss may transcend into insufficiencies. In reality, if you are not earning enough to make ends meet, you either take another job or get yourself into debt, paid after the other from another debt.
What’s next?
Adulthood isn’t as seamless as it appeared on televisions back then. You’re forcibly placed into a fast pace transition of events, where people also pressure you into complying with the set of life events they expect you to experience at a certain age.
If you’re a woman, and you’re single, people will pressure you into getting married since you are at the age of raising a family. If you’re still in a relationship at this age, people will pressure you and your partner into answering questions when you are getting married.
Age 26? When are you going to buy your first home? Isn’t it exhausting to be in a timeline set by others? At the age of 23, just by thinking I need to have a child of my own in the next five years makes me want to go run for the hills. We are now a generation who prioritizes financial stability, and preparedness prior to starting a family.
Most of us refuse to create lives out of impulse considering the economic struggles we as individuals are already struggling with. Gen Zs are a different breed. Societal standards when imposed forcibly can be suffocating on our end.
All we could ask for
Most exhausted adults have only one wish—to be a child again. To have an 8-hour sleep, to take an afternoon nap, and to be assisted by our parents.
Our school bags were indeed the lightest we could carry in our entire existence, because nobody has prepared us for the reality that life will be too heavy and we’re left with no choice but to still face everything.
Within adulthood comes the fear of falling short, trying to make ends meet, and even having to deal with losing our parents. All we could wish for is to be sent back into that pleasant noon, where the school bus will drop us in front of our homes and we will be welcomed by our parents asking us how school has been. Those were the most peaceful moments, we probably would’ve wished to extend only if we knew being an adult isn’t fun.
The determining factor between a child and an adult is that adults need to live even when they can’t. A child who doesn’t want to live will be kept alive by his parents. The world is harsh and the responsibilities are already overwhelming. May we all find reason to still continue despite wanting to quit life badly.
