One thing that everyone looks forward to in high school is that in a few short years you have this amazing thing called independence. With college comes independence from your parents and other responsibilities you don’t want to deal with like school, curfews, age limits, that sort of thing. And based on your older friends Twitter account, it looks amazing

However, there are more things that come with college that you don’t think about in high school. Freshman year is your carefree year to get adjusted and meet people. Sophomore year is when you start to realize there’s a whole other side to going to college called adulting.

If you haven’t signed a lease for an apartment, you will soon. With that lease comes a security deposit and rent. There’s probably a few bills in there too like electricity, water, and WiFi. (The University of Iowa also offers resources for things like this if you’re new to the process)

Then there’s the TV. You have to ask yourself, is cable really worth it? School takes up time but you still want to watch your favorite shows. Should I just get Netflix? Is Hulu or Amazon Prime worth it? So may options!

Don’t even get me started on laundry and upkeep of the apartment. Never forget about the lint trap in your dryer. If you don’t have a washer and dryer in your place, be sure to budget your quarters between parking and laundry day. Invest in a drain catcher for your shower to avoid clogs to save you from having to clean that out. Get a broom and use it. You also never realized how many dishes you dirty in a week. The list of responsibilities is exhausting.

But there is a silver lining to this adulting, you still have all that independence, so technically you can still do whatever you want, responsibly.

For example, you did your laundry today? Treat yourself to an extra episode on Netflix later. You paid rent, utilities, and your ubill? Congratulations, you just earned yourself a nap. You washed and dried all the dishes in the sink (including your roommates)? Next grocery trip, add chocolate ice cream to your list.

When your thrown into the adult world, it’s important to learn

early on it’s about the little things, so take the bad with some good. Get stuff done and treat yourself, because no one is going to tell you that can’t have pizza for dinner 3 nights a week or sleep until noon on a Saturday. Even when real adults tease you about celebrating everyday things, they were where you are once too, and your figuring it out slowly.

For a good laugh and a good read there is a whole book adulting you can buy here.

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