What are some benefits to becoming an adult?

Not a whole hell of a lot. It was weird to go from chill mode to survival mode almost overnight. Brace yourself, you’re going to hit that adult crash, and hard.

You get to stay up as late as you want, you can spend all the money in your wallet if you feel like it, you can buy booze…legally, after that it is 9–5, death and taxes. Stay young while you can!!

I never had a breezy childhood or any perks from parents but I can say there came a year when I felt, “wow, I’m a real adult now. I feel like an adult instead of just walking the talk.” It took a lot longer than most people would imagine but I like the calm in my mind, I like the confidence and I also like the acceptance into the Big Kids Club.

The age transition is a nice thing. Yet, I swear, many years into my legally adult years that I am still discovering adulthood.

You can decide what to do and when: when to go to bed, when to get up, what to wear, when to eat, what to eat, whether to go out or stay in, when to do laundry, etc., etc.

You don’t have to account for your whereabouts to anyone or worry about permission for your activities, your friends, how you spend money, and so on.

Once you realize that your survival no longer rests in the hands of your parents, you suddenly understand that you can live without their approval. It puts you on another footing. You may or may not attain a sense of equality with your parents, but at some point you are all adults together, just before they go downhill.

You’ve learned some lessons that you don’t have to learn again. As time goes on you will accumulate more of these. There really are some mistakes you have to make only once, glory be.

You develop some useful habits that save you from having to constantly make fresh decisions.

You get better at doing some things; a lot of things just don’t seem so hard or take so long.

You get a little wiser. Believe me, this is so valuable that there’s no way to put a price on it. The down side of this, of course, is that nobody will listen to your wisdom; they have to find out for themselves just as you did.

You gain confidence! Life definitely becomes more fun when you add confidence.

Once you’ve chosen a life partner, a lot of drama goes away, and this will be a relief. It lasts until you have teenagers. Maybe longer, depending on how good a relationship you build with your kids over their young years.

You can sneak cookies before dinner.

Well, it sure beats the alternative! (death)

People take you more seriously. You gain status. You can have sex with anyone who will do it with you. You can go out to any restaurant you can afford. You can live where you want, and do any work you can get paid for. You get to make your own mistakes. You get to follow your own bliss.

What @Jeruba. Plus, you can eat pie for breakfast.

Pie for breakfast! Yes. I actually did this on pi day.

You get to learn from past mistakes and have a chance of not repeating them. You feel a little bit liberated until the kids come. LOL

Being an adult is waayyyy better than being a kid. You have more control over your life. Most people as they get older become more in touch with themselves, what they want, have more perspective, appreciate the little things. I feel more joy as I get older. Hell, @Jeruba summed it up well.

It is better than being dead. Life is an experience and there different stages. The young, carefree….the learn what to do with your self to money and be happy. Relationships, travel, success, some disappointment. Its your DESTINY and your FREEDOM. Explore it.
Embrace it.

Not living at home is right up there at the top.

You can do what you want. I don’t mean in the “fuck you world” sense. I mean in the sense that if you decide you want to go to the mall, you can. Today, I had the urge to go hiking and I did and I plan on doing it tomorrow.

I also get along much better with my mom. We never got along badly, but everything seemed to be smoothed out once I grew up and moved out.

Also, I eat baked potatoes almost every night.

@tinyfaery: Your folks never let you eat pie for breakfast?!?!?!

Well, with age comes wisdom, which itself provides many good things. Getting that wisdom is a real pain, though.

I’m with @Captain_Fantasy.

I’d say that another way, @lilikoi, even though I know what the expression means. I’d say ”Home is not with your parents.”

You get to write checks. The first time you do it, you’re all “Yeah! Screw the Federal Reserve, I can make my own money.” Sort of.

(Legally) buying porn, buying cigarettes, voting, serving our country, getting married, get a tattoo, get a body piercing, go to an R rated movie, play the lottery.

you gain wisdom…that is pretty awesome….

Errr… well there are a couple of good things, but they dont outweight all the crap!

Fox,
It’s an odd transition these days. There are no longer the ‘rites of passage’ to become an adult. I can see you have a ‘sweet deal’ because your parents are good to you. But, I’m sure they know that part of being a good parent is ‘letting go’ and they’ll know they’ve raised you well when you can leave the ‘nest’ and make one of your own. You can put posters of your favourite band up in the living room if you want. You can paint your bedroom what ever colour you like. You will find ways to express yourself you never knew existed. Invite friends over for nights of experimental cooking, or watch tv in your underwear all day on Sunday. (I don’t promote the bad eating habits, but, yeah, eat your dessert first if you like.) You might even have house plants and a pet.

Yes, there is getting a job, paying bills, taxes, insurance…. but that’s only a small part of the experience. You can lock your own door and go to work in the morning and come home that night with an armful of groceries YOU paid for with your OWN money that YOU earned and cook a romantic dinner for two for you that that hottie you just met, and it will be YOUR place that you decorated and it will reflect who you are and what you want to be.

It may not sound like a great deal now, but the first step into the oblivion is the scariest, but it’s also the most breathtaking. (I moved half way around the world when I was 19 and it was THRILLING and rewarding, but not easy.)

If you’re still in high school, go see your school guidance counsellor and talk about what you want to study when you leave high school. Start making plans. It’s not that scary. Billions have gone before you and some have done some pretty great things as adults.

I can drink milk straight out of the bottle without getting yelled at!!

being an adult, you can live where you want, who you want to live with, and come and go as you please. i read somewhere that when you’re young, going out, staying out late is a privilege. when you’re an adult, staying home is a privilege. i enjoy going where i want when i want and not having to account to anybody. i can be on a somewhat equal footing with my parents and be respected more than as a teen. i don’t have to account to anybody for what i do, when i do it, where i am. i do miss that totally free feeling i had as a teen, but i remember that i had very little money then, so money was always a source of concern for me. now i have more money but i am not totally free because i am at work 35+ hours a week, plus commuting, plus other obligations.