“Adulting” is fucking hard. For those of you who are unfamiliar with “adulting,” it is the act of being an adult, especially for those of us who have no idea how to do it. School set me up to fail. When I entered the world of my parents not taking care of everything for me I didn’t know how to do my taxes, balance my check book, make a doctors appointment, let alone have health insurance, what to buy at the grocery store, and the list goes on.

Just last week I slipped and fell in my parents drive way  and my first thought was, “I’m too old for this.” I genuinely felt like my life should be more together and slipping and falling isn’t part of my getting it together plan, it’s actually opposite of that. As I lay in the driveway, skinned knee and hand, my scarf wrapped over my head, as oppose to where it was around my neck, in the cold rain, I just laughed. I mean really what the fuck else could I do. Yes it hurt to fall, but the fact that I thought I was too old to fall was hysterical. Who forgot to tell life that almost 30 year olds aren’t supposed to fall anymore? That shit is for the birds aka children!

As I walked inside my parents house my dad saw my bloody knee and was like, “How the hell did you fall?” I had no words, because what was I going to say, the truth wasn’t an option really. So I went with a typical shoulder shrug and went with “the ground is wet, it’s raining.” Shit got real when I asked if there were any bandaids in the house and my dad literally said, ” Why would I need bandaids in the house? There are no kids here.” Thanks Dad..stab to the back bro. It was then I knew I needed some help with this “adulting” crap because lord know I am failing miserably at “adulting.” So after talking to some adults who are more adultier than me, I’ve decided to share the trick to surviving adulthood.

1. When it comes to your business, everyone will always have an opinions, the only one that really matters is yours.

Its just that simple. You are the pilot on this flight. Decide for yourself. Decide how or where you will spend your time and your money. The days of people choosing for you are over, make changes if you need to, or simply just want to because out of everything you do, only you have to deal with the repercussions, no one else, so do you.

2. Ok so your single, the world doesn’t stop because of it.

Get out, meet new people, stop writing off making new friends because you think you’re “too cool”, ”not cool enough”, or “Too different.” News flash meeting new people opens up more opportunities than sitting at home or at a bar crying to anyone who will listen about how miserable life is, how all the “good ones” are taken. Really? Last checked majority of the world is still available so that’s not even likely, plus you haven’t met even a 1/3 of the people on this planet. Chill!! Go meet people.

3. Life will feed you what you work for.

Don’t cry about it if you haven’t actually done the work. At this point in your life you have realized life is fucking hard. You have watched teaches pet win accolades you felt you deserved, not them, you watched people land jobs that they are 100% not qualified for, you watched the town whore get married before the good girls, blah blah yes life shits on you, but its how you play the hand you are dealt. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and take a second and do some self-inventory, you might be surprised at how much you have accomplished and see new ways to catapult yourself into new opportunity.

4 . Just because your not being graded on “adulting” doesn’t mean its not happening.

You are graded on what kind of heart you have, the people you keep around you, how genuine you are, how you handle stress, how you handle sadness, happiness, etc. Life is testing you daily to see if at the core you are who you think or say you are. Work on being more genuine to your true self. Being disingenuous hurts no one but you, ultimately. S let go of people who no longer fit in your life, toxic people, clothes that don’t fit or age appropriate, de-clutter your business life, personal life, social life and re-arrange it to be conducive to your true self. You outgrow things sometimes and its ok to acknowledge that.

5. Stop glorifying being an asshole.

Committing acts of douche bag-ary are not ok people! I get that it’s a defense mechanism to guarding ones self, but honestly its just overdone. You could be pushing away potential opportunities because you think you are a mess and are ok with being a mess. Gain a sense of structure and get it together.

6.  There isn’t a “right way” to do things.

Everyone’s struggle is different, everyone’s journey is different, its ok to go it alone for a while to figure it out if you need to. Stop comparing your life to anyone else’s. Your 20s are for figuring it out, figuring you out,so I think its safe to assume then your 30s are for implementing, making some shit stick. Do what feels right to you and for you.

Brave on my fellow adults, because this shit is harder than they lead us to believe, but we got this, sort of.