Celebrating 10 Years of Adulthood

Today is my birthday. At 10:38 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, I will turn 28.

Whenever my birthday rolls around, I get to thinking not only of the year I've had, but of past birthdays, and this morning it hit me that I have legally been an adult for a whole decade now.

At 10:38 p.m. on October 19th, 1996, I turned 18 at a fraternity house. It was my first semester of college, I wasn't a big partier, and I didn't like the crappy beer they had in the frat houses (Iron City Light -- it's cheap, so it's popular on my old campus, but even when you're underage, you really have to want to get drunk to brave the stuff), so I was stone-cold sober and kind of bored. But since it seemed like a cool college student thing to do, and I hadn't been to any fraternity parties yet, I went, and I got a kick out of legally becoming an adult the same day I reached this rite of passage.

Ten years later, my birthday has again become a significant day in my life, not only as the anniversary of the day I was born, but as a landmark on my journey through adulthood. This is likely the last birthday I will spend with my current last name; by this time next year, I will probably be a Mrs. And since my fiance and I are aiming to buy a house as soon as possible, I may be a homeowner as well. Being married and owning a home will certainly cement my place in the adult world. Add to that paying off my credit card debt, and I'll be a real live grownup!

It's scary, but in a good way. At age 18, I was an adult in name only. I didn't feel like an adult. I wasn't living at home full-time anymore, but I wasn't self-sufficient yet, and even then I knew I still had a lot to learn. Even after I was finished with school and moved out of my parents' house completely, I had years of decision- (and mistake-) making ahead of me.

Today, I have a car that wasn't previously driven by my mom, a balanced checkbook and a kitchen full of gadgets and cookbooks I actually use. I have accomplishments in my past and goals for my future. I have an understanding of who I am and who I want to be.

It's taken 10 years, but I finally feel like an adult.