The First Rule of the Universe

Well, I suppose it's less a Rule of the Universe, so much as it is a
Rule of Adulthood. I am young, I admit. I'm 20 years old, going on 21. I'm hardly, by many people's standards, an adult.

I feel like an adult. I live on my own. I am responsible for all of my own decisions and actions, good or bad. I alone control my fate. The predicament, however, is that by everyone older than me, I am treated like a child. When my girlfriend and I went searching for an apartment, the first landlord we went to told us that we can't "play house" and that this was a "serious offer". He went on to explain that we will be expected to pay rent, every month, we can't miss it. What he didn't know was that this would have been my third apartment already. I file my own taxes, drink coffee in the morning, and do...other...grown up type things. Sometimes I comb my hair, even.

Yet those who are younger than me, expect me to be just like their dad. The teenagers think that I'm just on-top of everything. I'll always have food in the kitchen, all of my bills will always be paid, and I have a seemingly endless supply of money, that I don't end up wasting on silly useless things

Especially not this. Never this.

But my addiction to useless toys aside, being in that transitional period has opened up my eyes to a lot of things. When I was young(er) I never thought about the consequences of my actions. I'd stay out all night, never bother doing homework, and, most of the time, not even attending school. Then, one terrible day, life decided, "Alright, kid, you'

re on your own now." Just like that, I was thrust into the world of responsibility and problem-solving. I actually care about my college work. I try as hard as I can to make that good grade. I care about my money, now, and I've been working twice as hard to change my gold-hoarding ability from countless RPG's into the real world.

Precious, precious gold

But I'm sure I don't have to tell you, it's easier said than done.

So what's the point?

The point is, adulthood isn't something that just happens. No matter how old you are, adult is a feeling. Nobody can tell you when you're an adult, you just are one, gradually. Some are good at it, some aren't. That's all there is to it. So, if I can give any youngsters any advice, it's that being an adult kinda blows. Try not to do it, if you can. And to you older folks, stop calling me 'kiddo', I have a goatee and a teeeeny baldspot, you ass.