How To Adult

Honestly, where to I even start.

I'm just your average manish pixie hair, no make up wearing, short girl, trying to not be mistaken for either:

A. A Child

or

B. A Short & Thic Boy

To be real, a lot of people do stare at me when I walk by. I pretend it's because I'm wearing a cute outfit-which for the record, I do wear some pretty nice outfits-but I know in my heart that I'm just a little bit too loud for the people of Georgia. The only places I've seen other short haired girls since I moved in are VERY hipster taco bars. So until short hair is #trending again, I'll represent the library workforce division.

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At the beginning of January, I started my first full time job. I'm now working as a library assistant (shocker, right?!) at a college. So that's right, I once again can say that "I work for the Government, and I'm here to help!" and then actually give out some handy information.

I've got to say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself for securing a job. It can be a bit demoralizing when you're in your mid twenties and you've only had part time jobs. It seems as if it's an in between state of living. Yes, you've proven that you are now old enough to be a contributing member of the adult society, but no you have not lived long enough to make people think you are responsible to have keys to the building. If you're like me and don't have a 4 year degree, good full time jobs can be slim pickings. I thought I would have to settle in retail again! Guys, I'm really bad at retail. During my first draft I had a huge tangent dedicated to how horrible I was at retail work. I hope you're happy you were spared.

So, now I have an "adult" job. What comes with that? Making "adult" decisions, such as retirement. Who's idea was it to let the girl with no knowledge of investment, have the final say in a possibly life altering decision?! Yes, I new that when talking about 401k's if the key word "matching" was said, then that was favorable. However when a formula was presented, I had no idea what numbers I should be inserting! Does 1% vs. 2% make a huge difference? Is it even legal not to receive social security? What would happen if I ever moved States? Would my retirement money all go away? Where is 401k money kept? How is a 401k different than an IRA or a Roth IRA? This really should have been a mandatory college course. Forget student success, give students after college success! That's kind of the point of college anyway!

Well, in case you're wondering, I did find out the answers to most of those questions after much frustration, a cup of tea, and finally consulting my mother-in-law who was fantastic in interpreting all of my benefits and retirement information.

If you're reading this, Shelley, thank you for all of your help! I honestly would not have made good choices without you! ❤

While I'm thanking people, I should probably be thanking my amazing husband, Cody. He has "adulted" nonstop since we got married, but lately he's been on a roll. Every morning he wakes up at 5:30am to have coffee with me in silence. He helps me pack for the day and put my lunch bag together so I don't have to wake up earlier and do it all myself. And after I leave he could go back to bed, but he never does. He stays awake and maintains the house! When I come home from work he has a meal ready for me so that I don't have to cook after my long day and my long commute. He's really much more than I ever dreamed for a husband.

Without the help from my family and friends I really don't know how I would survive, so if you're on the struggle bus when adulting, I highly suggest to get yourself a unit! You don't need to be like me and get hitched, that's not what's important. Love and support, that's the important part. Not those friends who laugh at you when you don't know the difference between your dental and health insurance cards. Get someone who will set you straight!

Up until this point, it may sound like I kind of sort of have my life together...but let me assure you that I do not know what I'm doing. I don't know how to balance between holding off another month on breaks or delaying medical bills. One could hurt me and the other hurts my credit. I don't know what's going to happen when my apartment lease ends. There are a whole lot of little things that I haven't figured out yet, along with some big things. Maybe some other time I'll get into a few my concerns, but not right now.

No, definitely another time. I'm busy now.

I've got other things to do today.

I'm #adulting