THERE COMES A time in everyone’s life where they wake up one fine morning to a horrific truth.

A huge, shocking realisation.

Somehow, without even being aware of how it happened, you became an adult. And that’s… terrifying.

But the good news is – you’re handling it. Mostly. As best you can. And for that we salute you.

If you’re still not sure whether you’re actually an adult yet, we’ve rounded up seven ways you can tell.

Brace yourself.

1. Getting yourself up in the morning

Giphy Giphy

Remember those days when you never had to set an alarm clock because someone would come in and shout at you repeatedly until you got up?

Now, you have to remember to set your own alarm clock, to snooze it five times by yourself, and then drag your own self out of bed.

So unfair. 

And if you accidentally turn off your alarm instead of snoozing it and sleep in, well… may God have mercy on your soul. Because no-one’s going to write a note to your boss for you.

2. Ironing your own clothes

Giphy Giphy

In theory, you could sidestep this bastion of adulthood quite easily by just buying clothes that don’t wrinkle, but chances are at some point you’re going to have to pull out the ironing board and swipe the iron over some item of clothing you want to wear, and at that very moment you’ll hear, echoing through your brain,  ’You’re an adult now… now… now…’.

And a little part of you will die inside.

3. Going food shopping

Giphy Giphy

Remember when you were little and you went supermarket shopping with your mam or dad and you just thought it was the best thing ever? There was so much choice. So many delicious, sugary options.

They could buy whatever they wanted but inevitably would stick to a boring shopping list that had no fun things on it – like all the sweets you could ever eat or every biscuit in the shop.

And you couldn’t understand why they did that. Nor could you understand why they weren’t excited at the opportunity.

Now you can. Grocery shopping is the third circle of hell.

Welcome to adulthood.

4. Having a budget – and sticking to it

Giphy Giphy

If there was ever a word to strike terror into your heart, surely ‘budget’ is right up there?

Back in the day you had no conception of the word, and wasn’t life all the sweeter?

Now you have to make choices between paying some bills or having a little fun.

That’s not fun. That’s not fun at all. 

5. Exercising… for your health

Giphy Giphy

When you were little you would just leg it around for the sake of it – often because you were running away from whatever trouble you were probably in.

Now, you have to make a concerted effort to haul yourself to the gym – for your health. Because your health is something you think about now. And talk about. And worry over.

You might even take the odd vitamin tablet. Don’t get too carried away though.

6. Paying bills yourself

Giphy Giphy

Once upon a time, when you were very, very young, you thought the sound of the post hitting the mat was the most exciting sound in the world. No one wrote to you – and your folks got letters all the time. 

How cool was that?

Now you’ve entered adulthood the sound of post hitting the mat is the sound of dread – every single time. You understand your parents now, in ways you never thought you would.

You might even feel for them, on occasion. Just don’t let them know.

7. Making your own bed in the morning

Giphy Giphy

Now, this might be the ultimate sign of being an adult – voluntarily making your own bed.

Who would have thought back in day, amidst the battleground that was your teenage years, that one day you would realise that it is actually nicer to get into a made up bed rather than throwing yourself on top of a bundled up tangled mess of covers, like your parents always told you.

If only your mam could see you now – there’d be a whole lot of ‘I told you so…’

But there is an upside…

It’s not all doom, gloom and chores being an adult. Not at all – there are many perks. You get to make the major decisions now – like what to eat, and when to go to bed. Y’know, the important stuff.

And the best part? Now you’re an adult you get to look upon the youth of today with disdain, claiming that’s not how things were done ‘in your day’. And that almost makes up for it.

Almost.

Giphy Giphy