• Finding hairs on your nipples.
• Finding hairs on your chin.
• Finding hairs on your cheeks.
• Just in general, lots of hair-finding–it’s like puberty all over again.
• Re-figuring out your skin–I tamed you years ago, monster zits! Damn hormonal changes.
• Rolls in new places. What’s that strange feeling on my back? Oh, it’s part of my body, hello new friend.
• Realizing you don’t move the way you used to–“No, I’m not limping!” Wait, am I limping?
• The way food begins to just stay put. Like, right smack in that mid-section, so you start to get that muffin-top roll over your mom-jeans. Feeling a little sheepish about all my judgy eye rolls at the calorie-counting women in the teachers lounge. I think my Dorito-binging days are over.
• Having dear friends who you cherish and who love and support you through your trickiest times.
• Not having any friends who you actually, secretly (or, not-so-secretly) dislike.
• Being in a stable and mutually respectful relationship.
• Making life-changing decisions that are scary and intense but knowing that, ultimately, they are the right decisions–and, therefore, not being fearful of change.
• Eating well but allowing yourself to indulge every now and again.
• Living frugally but allowing yourself to splurge every now and again–can you say, Book of Mormon! (Sidenote, how are those tickets still so expensive?!)
• Being productive most days but allowing yourself some lazy, couch-potato, netflix-binging days too.
• Reading good books and not-so-great ones without judgment.
• Saying goodbye to the bands you thought were cool because it was so much work to listen to them. It’s all easy-listening these days. Give me a band I can hum to while I cook and I’m happy.
• Being able to set boundaries. I love you and I will be there for you but I also have to take care of myself. Turns out you are no good to anyone if you aren’t being good to yourself.
• Being able to say “no” guilt-free. “I can, but I don’t want to” is a perfectly fine excuse.
• Acknowledging that you are not always right. Damn, it hurts even writing it.
• Acknowledging that you still have so much to learn.
• Knowing that even if you are not the smartest, the most beautiful, the most charming, the wittiest person in the room you still have a lot to offer.
• Not being intimidated because someone has more information about a topic than you. Even when they’re super douche-y. Now, shall we talk about education? I’d love to reference fifteen acronyms that are totally meaningless to you and look at you like you should absolutely know what they mean. No? Dummy.
• Starting with kindness but being capable of switching to intense bitchiness if the situation warrants it.
• Being a legit adult. Teenagers look like babies to me. Seriously, how are they driving?! It’s difficult to admit, but I think I am a true-blue grownup.