Adulting Part One: Being Independent
When I entered the word “adulting” in the search box at Amazon I was presented with over ten thousand results in books.
(Part one in a series of adulting tips that are actually worthwhile.)
Excerpt from my recent book: OK Boomer: What We Failed to Teach American Millennials
Adulting: The Dumbest Word Ever
“We already tried what you’re advocating and it failed miserably. Grow up, get a real job for a change and learn something from history and economics!” Margaret Thatcher on Socialism
I read another article this morning disparaging Millennials by calling them “the bubble wrap” generation, where they “grew up tightly wrapped in bubble wrap, never exploring on their own, never making mistakes from which they can learn, never getting to understand reality”. The article also got into how Millennials prefer Socialism because they think it will give them everything they need for free and that public education has created empty minded Marxist youths.
While you may find this sort of sentiment in print and on screens, I personally don’t know any Millennials who prefer Socialism. The ones I know are heavy in to the goodness that capitalism brings. And while the article was just another opinion piece about Millennials, it did inspire me to revisit Margaret Thatcher and her thoughts on being dependent.
Margaret Thatcher was probably one of the most amazing women my generation was privileged to know. Thank the American school system if you don’t know who she is, she’s a prime example of a true feminist, but not the kind the American education system would ever want you to know about.
Who was Margaret Thatcher?
She served as the British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. She was also known as the “Iron Lady”. Only six men have served longer as British Prime Minister. Eleven years at the helm of the United Kingdom (UK), she brought the UK from a nanny state (British term that states the government or its policies are overprotective or interfering with personal choice) to become a powerful player on the world’s stage. In short, she eradicated Socialism from the UK.
From a speech Margaret Thatcher gave:
“I place a profound belief—indeed a fervent faith—in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence. On these is founded the whole case for the free society, for the assertion that human progress is best achieved by offering the freest possible scope for the development of individual talents, qualified only by a respect for the qualities and the freedom of others...For many years there has been a subtle erosion of the essential virtues of the free society. Self-reliance has been sneered at as if it were an absurd suburban pretension. Thrift has been denigrated as if it were greed. The desire of parents to choose and to struggle for what they themselves regarded as the best possible education for their children has been scorned.”
And
“I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society—from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and- go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain.”
When I thought about the “adult” skills I taught my Millennial as part of our homeschool I realized they were sprinkled into just about everything we did. Mine knew what a checking account was and has had one – since the age of 15. Had a job at age 16. Understood how to book a flight on a plane, train or ship. (Yes, we went sailing and traveled many other ways as part of our homeschool.) Knows how to fix many things. Knows how to cook many things, a few things well. Knows how to start a campfire without matches. Knows how to change: a light bulb, a battery, and a flat tire. Knows how to jump a car battery. Understands celestial navigation (the art and science of finding your way using the sun, moon and stars using observed positions of celestial bodies), the nautical art of knot tying. I could brag further, but I won’t...
When I started organizing this section, I wondered just why the word “adulting” came into being and what the general consensus was on presenting “adulting” topics. While I don’t have a good reason as to why the word exists, at least one that is kind, I did find some choice ways entrepreneurs are making money off the general ignorance of the Millennial generation.
When I entered the word “adulting” in the search box at Amazon I was presented with over ten thousand results in books. I got bored looking at the titles after three pages and none of them were enticing enough to even explore further. It seems “adulting” is covered in print.
There were adulting stickers too. What are they for? Here are a few: “I fixed it myself”, “Took only one selfie”, “Made my bed” and the pièce de résistance (French term meaning the showpiece or highlight), “Didn’t lose my keys”. I assume you place these stickers on the thing you fixed or maybe in your Day-Timer, or on a chart on the refrigerator, kind of like Kindergarten.
There are adulting classes too. One advertisement I read went like this:
“Let’s not kid ourselves, generations preceding Millennials didn’t emerge into adulthood knowing how to sew a button on or light a pilot on the stove either”
(Yes, we did.)
“Who were life skills classes developed for in the past? People experiencing homelessness may lack everyday skills, likewise people who are in recovery from an addiction.”
Yes, boys and girls, you can pay money to learn stuff you should have learned as high school and college students.
You should be insulted.
The way you become an adult is by taking on grownup tasks, failing and then trying again. Probably one of the best movies I’ve seen about failing and trying again is “Cool Runnings”, a story about the Jamaican Bobsled team. Based on a true story, in a country where there is no snow, it is a comedy about how one determined man built the Jamaican Bobsled team and took them to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.
The main takeaway from the movie is that even the most outlandish dreams can come true with hard work and knowing what you want. It also illustrates in a comedic fashion the idea of being true to yourself, learning from your mistakes and making up for bad behavior.
If you really do have a bubble wrap life, realize that a free society is comprised of people who are self-reliant and non-conformist. Self-reliant people are curious to learn new skills – that matter, recognize failure is a learning moment; and that great skills are built on hard learned minor skills. Non-conformity means breaking social norms, like the ones keeping you in bubble wrap.
Instead of “adulting”, or being an adult for moments at a time, be an adult all the time.
(Part one in a series of adulting tips that are actually worthwhile.)