I like to believe that I’m filled with childlike whimsy. I prance through meadows on sunny days and jump in puddles on rainy ones. So imagine my shock when I remembered that I’m no longer a kid. Let me set the scene. There I was, sitting on my bed, surrounded by organic chemistry notes and sipping on my Capri-Sun when suddenly, out of absolute nowhere, I realized that I’m an adult and I have been for years.

I know that being an adult doesn’t mean that I’m necessarily old, but it was like I was seeing wrinkles suddenly forming on my skin. Sure, I’m on Facebook and not on TikTok, but that’s just where my friends are. All my friends talk about is finding jobs and dull stuff like that, and I long thought that they were just boring people, but they’re actually just adults – we all are!

What’s next? Paying bills and filing taxes? Ugh! Being an adult is so boring! Why do I have to write my essays when I could just be playing Roblox? However, I won’t let the blandness of adulthood ruin my whimsy. Catch me licking a massive lollypop and wearing a propeller hat at the DMV.

If you’re also getting up there in age (maybe you just found your first grey hair or you decided to go to bed at the perfectly reasonable 7:30 p.m.) you may be wondering what to do. Surely you can’t just live your life knowing that you won’t find an apple juice in your lunch box everyday. Just take a deep breath and enjoy the years before you have to blow out 80 candles on your birthday.

I’m now an adult, but I’m taking that fact in stride. Sure, I work at a summer camp and everyone there makes sure to remind me of my age, but look at me now. I show up to work, I complain about gas prices and I listen to podcasts while doing my biology homework. So, don’t worry if you’re an adult too, just make the best of it!