Definition.

This is my favorite xkcd.com comic, mostly because it makes me smile but also because the message is simple and relatable.

After recently graduating from college, beginning my career, and moving into my first apartment, I’m learning to compare less. Why would I want to be anything but me? There are a lot of reason we grow up comparing, it starts with toys as a child and follows us to when we’re picking out our coffins. The teachings of status creates more problems then I feel like we are meant to deal with.

I find myself wanting. But for what? Each time I discover myself wanting now, I dig a little deeper and ask myself why. If the core reason isn’t something logical (and more often then not, it isn’t,) I realize it is just something I’m conditioned to want, not something that I personally desire.

“Because we’re grown-ups now and it’s our turn to decide what that means.”

How true! For me, being a grown-up means I can make grilled cheese for dinner two nights in a row, work a meaningful job, sing Spice Girls at the top of my lungs, watch Modern Family ad nauseam, do pilates in my living room, and go to bed by 9 pm if I damn well please.

It’s a good place to be in, and I’m more than happy to take advantage of it. What does being a grown-up mean to you? For so long I felt “grown-up” carried a negative connotation of being serious, zombie-like, stressed, etc. Forget it, I’m redefining growing up, and I know I’m going to like what it means.

Advertisement