about being 22

1) you're an adult but you're not an adult: I shop for my own groceries.  But I still call my mom to ask how long leftover pasta keeps for.  I pay for my car insurance.  But I still get my dad to add more oil to my car.  I go to bed before 11 so that I can get up rested for work.  But I'm considering buying tickets to the Twilight midnight premiere next week.  I like the idea of being a sophisticated grown-up.  But I still refer to older people as "grown-ups".

2) you know what you want to do but you don't know what you want to do: When I graduated from college I was all, "OMG I'm going to study poetry and be an amazing professor and have tons of literary friends and this is my PASSION and I'm going to CHANGE THE FREAKING WORLD, Y'ALL! let's start writing my first collection I LOVE THE REAL WORLD!!!!!!" but then after about 12 minutes of that I was all "WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFEEEEEEE should I be a teacher? should I really go back to school right away? Am I bad at poetry? Am I good at it? What does it mean to be bad or good at poetry? Ok, I'm going to intern. Ok , should I go to school for something different?  Maybe I should work for a nonprofit.  Maybe I should write a book.  Maybe I should go teach English in Korea (kidding, mom).  THE REAL WORLD SUCKS. HELP!" and cry in the middle of the day, think I'm always going to be a purposeless, floating 22-year-old, panic, etc. etc., repeat.

3) you're wise but you're stupid too: I managed to make my way through college at a good university.  I have travelled by myself in new places and not gotten lost.  I can live on my own for long periods of time without the police showing up in response to a prank 911 call (been there, done that) or burning the house down (my list of things to NOT put in the microwave has grown extensively from experience).  But let's be real - I'm still an idiot, you guys.  There is always that tension when you are a 22-year-old to alternate between thinking you've really accomplished a lot in life and lived through things and then feeling like you know nothing about the world.  I have no idea how people do the real-world things I could experience in the next phase of life such as: build a career, have a family, find a purpose in life, pay taxes, etc.  Good thing I'm not alone in this, right T.Swift??