Chore Avoidance and Our Rights as Adults

Why is adulting so hard? As those of you who know me know, it is hard enough to keep my attention at times let alone trying to get me to do things I don't want to do. Something I have learnt since I moved out of home and went abroad, though, is that I have been doing this whole 'adult' thing quite well without even realising it. What I have discovered is that as long as you don't pause to reflect on how well you are doing in life, you don't really notice how much of an adult you're being. You pay bills, you go to work, you hunt for flats and places to live, you do grocery shopping. Who cares if what you buy is entirely made up of chocolate and has an overall carbohydrate rating of 600% of your daily intake, the fact that you bought it yourself is being an adult. I used to kick myself for not cleaning the flat as often as I should, for not eating my 2 and 5 a day, for postponing doing the dishes, for blowing off the odd footy training in order to spend an evening at the pub with my friends, but god-damn it if it isn't my right to do  just these things. The beauty of being an adult is that it is the opportunity to be the biggest child in the world and no one else can tell ou to be anything otherwise because it's your decision. Responsibility is the only thing you inherit once you turn eighteen, nothing else. If you want to ignore whatever responsibilities you have, or abuse your right to do what you like, then congratulations, you're an adult! If you want to skip three days of work to go on the biggest bender of you're life, that's fine. If you want to let the dishes pile up to the ceiling, that's fine. If you want to study to be a Jedi or marry your cat, that's fine. These are all adult things once you come of age, no parent has a right to tell you otherwise anymore and that's the only difference in life that adulthood has. I believe that a lot of the elderly are sending us clues as well, as why else does it seem that some ninety year old is the biggest child you know?

Right now, I'm typing this out, trying to keep it short and succinct because it's a lazy sort of Sunday, avoiding the vacuuming that needs to be done, postponing the brushing of my teeth, and steering clear of making the bed whilst eyeing off the twelve pack of Sol sitting on the kitchen table, and by god it feels great. I'm an adult, and I'm bloody glad I've made it this far. I have achieved things over the last few years I never would have thought of back in high school, things that never even occur to you when you're an adolescent, and it is one of the best feelings.  I am by no means the same person I was when I left high school, but at the same time I am. I still like the same music, I still have the same short attention span, the same loud, recognisable and never stopping voice, and at the same time I have all these new responsibilities, like rent, a job, a girlfriend. No one really changes that much when they get older, if you think about it, they just begin using their right as an adult to do whatever the hell they want. I guess this is the moment we see someone for who they really are. As is said in many ways all over the world, you don't grow up, you just grow old.