block #3: the "being a real person" block

Back when "being a real person" meant "holy cow I can actually drive myself from point A to point B and play whatever music I want along the way," things were much easier.  Now, though...now I'm responsible for things that involve the "real world"...and it's a little scary.


Let's take a look back at some of my milestone progressions into adulthood/"real person" life.

Learning to do one's own laundry...that was an exciting experience for most of the boys in my freshman dorm.  Every week, when I went to wash my clothes, there would inevitably be a boy standing at either a washer or dryer with his head cocked to the side-like a confused puppy who can't figure out why his owner didn't throw the ball-examining the miscellaneous shiny buttons and dials, etc.


I know, this scared me a little too.


Once I successfully taught the majority of the dorm how to wash their clothes, I was pretty much able to get through the rest of the year without having to make many other adjustments (other than living on the other side of the country from everything I knew and loved).


But sophomore year...that was when things got real.


I learned within about a week of moving into an apartment that food no longer magically appeared in a dining-hall buffet style format.  Thus, groceries/cooking.


Groceries never ceased to be an adventure.  Between getting lost, there not being the right flavor of yogurt at the store, and trying to push a grocery cart while on crutches for over a month...there were some difficulties.


Cooking, as it turned out, was the easy part of that combo.  All you have to do is follow the instructions and if you get something that smells and tastes yummy and doesn't give you food poisoning, it's a success.


Obviously, other challenges came up, but between signing a lease, scraping together a security deposit, and learning of the joys of caffeinated morning beverages, things were okay for awhile.


Then we got to do things like apply for internships.


Suddenly, I needed to have a resume, magical cover letter-writing skills, a portfolio, an ability to charm potential employers over the phone, and-the most terrible thing ever-business casual clothing.


I probably wore a skirt a total of 20 times throughout high school and didn't own anything that was remotely appropriate for an office environment.  I live in jeans and tank tops-it's the Los Angeles in me-and there was no way these people were going to get me to actually wear a suit.  This evil business casual ultimately taught me how to compromise.  I can wear an annoying skirt with a top that I really like and cute heels and earrings.  That I can do...and be happy while doing it.


What have I learned from all this?


Even when you have to be sitting in a stuffy business casual outfit (ew) you can still let your personality come through.  You don't have to grow up to get old.  You can have fun and laugh, even when you're in an interview or at work.  It's not always a bad thing to just pencil in a little bit of time to relax and hang out with a friend.  And, most importantly, be yourself.  If you don't like something, you're the only one who can change it.  But when you're happy before your head hits the pillow at the end of a long day, or when you feel satisfied after accomplishing a big task...well, you're doing something right.