If you are fulfilling your adult responsibilities (supporting yourself, living within your means, having realistic goals and working to accomplish them, etc.), then you are a Responsible Adult, Q.E.D.
Our culture doesn't have any formal Rite Of Passage, which makes it difficult to internalize the feeling of "having arrived" at adulthood. Basically, you have to decide for yourself when you've done it; I suspect that actually buying a house may be a strong trigger for you. Beyond that, I think Bill says it well.
FWIW, there are some assumptions made about adulthood that annoy the living shit out of me, such as the cutesy phrase "adult beverages" for booze. I have a hard time expressing how marginalizing it feels to be told, in effect, that because I choose not to drink alcohol, I'm not a REAL adult. Also, it makes me wonder whether this attitude will leak over into the way people who use the phrase will perceive me in other areas as well.
no subject
Our culture doesn't have any formal Rite Of Passage, which makes it difficult to internalize the feeling of "having arrived" at adulthood. Basically, you have to decide for yourself when you've done it; I suspect that actually buying a house may be a strong trigger for you. Beyond that, I think Bill says it well.
FWIW, there are some assumptions made about adulthood that annoy the living shit out of me, such as the cutesy phrase "adult beverages" for booze. I have a hard time expressing how marginalizing it feels to be told, in effect, that because I choose not to drink alcohol, I'm not a REAL adult. Also, it makes me wonder whether this attitude will leak over into the way people who use the phrase will perceive me in other areas as well.