We’ve already established that making friends as an adult is hard and glanced at other daunting adult realizations, suggesting that adulthood is no easy ride. However, that’s just looking at the negative side of things. When you were a kid, do you remember dreaming of all the things you could do once you grew up? Well, this seems ironic today, considering many of us would rather have the First World problems we had as kids than the ones we have today.
Nevertheless, we were jealous of all the adult activities we couldn’t partake in, which we saw the adults do. We wished we could stay up late, have sleepovers with friends chit-chatting into the night, or eat dessert first whenever we wanted to and without having to ask for permission. We dreamed of all the cool activities for adults that our parents and peers were doing and believed that freedom of choice was the best thing about being an adult. And now that we are (still) young and able, we can enjoy the freedom of choice too. If we skip the “work till you die” part (it’s hard to do, we know), there is so much to enjoy as an adult. To remind ourselves of the pros of being an adult, we looked at this recent thread on AskReddit, which inquired, “What’s cool about being an adult?” The still-open thread revealed the many joys of being an adult and all the fun activities for adults which wouldn’t be appropriate or allowed for children. Everything has its own time!
To bring back that “I’m 18 now, the world is at my feet” attitude, below, we’ve compiled some of the most spot-on responses revealing the best things about being an adult. Are there any other cool adult things and activities for adults that are worth growing old for? Let us know in the comments! If you agree with any of the entries, make sure to give those an upvote. Also, if you enjoyed this article, share the joy by sharing it with your friends!
#1
“Pro: I can eat an entire bag of cadbury mini eggs and no one can stop me.
Con: i ate an entire bag of cadbury mini eggs and no one stopped me so now im going to lie down.”
Image source: Nothingspecial2do
#2
“I get to have an every night sleepover with my favorite person and no one yells at us when we stay up late giggling. (My husband).”
Image source: Mean_Parsnip
#3
“Boss on Monday: Did you have a good weekend?
Me: Yep, it was glorious.
Boss: oh yeah? What did you do?
Me: not a f*cking thing, and I loved every second of it.”
Image source: GearhedMG
#4
“Learning that when I’m asked to do something unreasonable, “No” really is a full sentence.
What a glorious day that was.”
Image source: Unhappy-Professor-88
#5
King_Zapp wrote:
“The coolest thing about being an adult is not caring about being cool.”
darwin_shark replied:
“Underrated comment. It’s wild (and IMO really sad) the completely trivial things that affect kids to the point of being bullied, developing depression etc, based on the social expectation to be ‘cool’. Like bands, movies, famous people, clothing, trying to be the perfect example of a trend e.g., being emo, hipster etc just to fit in.
As an adult, it would be laughable if someone dissed you because you liked a band or celebrity others find unattractive. I’m super different from all my best mates in terms of hobbies etc. but we love each other FOR those things cos they make us who we are.”
Image source: King_Zapp
#6
“When a new video game comes out that you’ve been eagerly anticipating, if you organise yourself you can take a couple of days off and absolutely no-life the sh*t out of it. Skip showers, order in, revel in the slobitude in a way you never could as a kid.”
Image source: Wulfsten
#7
“There’s still consequences when you get older. Instead of parents yelling at you, it’s your body yelling at you.”
Image source: insert-originality
#8
“My girlfriend said its to old to be skateboarding around town if you could order a drink in a bar.
So I rode my skate board to the bar and ordered a beer. She didn’t like that but she got the point when I asked everyone if it was ok to bring my skateboard in and they all said “hell yeah!”. Solid conversation starter met some good people.”
Image source: Pencilowner
#9
“No more panic about forgetting to study for exams for not doing a term paper assignment.
Just kidding.
I’m in my 40’s and I still have panic dreams where I wake up thinking I am late for a midterm.”
Image source: The__Riker__Maneuver
#10
“I’m in my mid 20s and progressively realizing adults are just winging it. My job even is full of educated guessing.”
Image source: Elastichedgehog
#11
“I woke up at 9am today. it’s currently 12:30pm, and I am still in bed. I’ll get up when the hunger pains take over, but until then, bed.”
Image source: xTraxis
#12
“I once stayed in a hotel on a Tuesday night because I felt like it.
I got off of work. Checked in to a hotel. Got room service. Then checked out in the morning and showered and changed back at my place. It was fun.”
Image source: AudibleNod
#13
“I’m eating ice cream. Its raining outside and its cold. But I fancied ice-cream, so here I am.”
Image source: UnfinishedThings
#14
“I went for a walk by the river this morning. Grabbed a coffee, sat on a bench, and watched chipmunks scurry around the river bank for about 15 minutes while I drank my coffee. I ended up in that time, reflecting on how far I’ve come from the child I was when I left home.
Sometimes, responsibilities suck. Other times, I get to just decide I’m going to watch chipmunks by the river at 9am without anyone interfering with the plans or lack thereof I have for my day and myself.
This extends to more consequential things, like where I want to live, what I want my career to be, or who I want to include in my life. You can LITERALLY do whatever the hell you want. Growing up is simply understanding your tolerance for the consequences of doing whatever the hell you want.”
Image source: Shanknado
#15
“Breakfast beers sometimes just hit right. I made a full breakfast during covid lockdown: buttered toast, perfectly cooked firm but chewy bacon, maple smoked sausage links, scrambled eggs with a bit of cheddar cheese, perfectly crispy hashbrowns with onions and peppers, setup my outdoor table, drug my camp chair out there one morning perfect 70*F with light breeze sun shining. Decided to have a light beer with it. Omg heaven lol.”
Image source: InsertBluescreenHere
#16
“Control over my own time and money. Like, obviously I can’t do anything illegal. But if I want to sit on the couch all day during my day off, if I want to watch cartoons in my gym shorts, if I want to buy a value pack of frozen cream puffs from Costco, I can do all of those things and nobody can stop me.”
Image source: CrazyPlato
#17
“Having the money to support all of your nerdy hobbies and interests. Like if teen me could have a peek at just my home office, he’d be stoked. Big flat screen TV, multiple gaming consoles, custom-built PC, a bunch of nerdy posters and decor, a drawer full of different w**d strains(fixed), etc. I’d be looking forward to adulthood, not dreading it, if I could see how dope things got.”
Image source: xDanSolo
#18
“Occasionally I take my girlfriend on a date to a bowling alley. We don’t go bowling, we just spend 20 to 30 pound on various arcade machines and penny slot machines and rack up a bunch of tickets and then go trade them for some sh*tty prize. Exactly what you wish you could do as a kid but your parents never let you spend that much money at the arcade.”
Image source: mr-ajax-helios
#19
“Not having to ask permission.
If something is legal you don’t have to worry about anyone telling you you can’t do it and grounding you if you do it anyway. Wanna stay out late, your choice. Wanna not take out the trash, your choice (although eventually you’ll need to, but it can be on your schedule).”
Image source: iliketorubherbutt
#20
yesweyolo wrote:
“Going to bed at 8pm because I want to.”
InsertBluescreenHere replied:
“I accidently went to bed at 9 last night – felt like it was like 10:30, body was tired so just auto pilot doing the nightly routine. Laid down for bed and looked at my phone – 9:15… I was like wtf welp looks like i’m getting extra sleep.”
Image source: yesweyolo
#21
“My wife and I buy 50 hot wings every anniversary and every Valentine’s Day and get legally stoned with the weed I bought from the fuckin’ w**d store and play video games or watch movies for our date night.”
Image source: AnimZero
#22
“Everything. Every f*cking thing. I hated being a kid/teenager. At 40 being an adult still hasn’t lost its novelty. For example, although I normally cook dinner most days a week, today I said f*ck it and we ate bagel bites. I might paint my living room a new color tonight. I can do anything I want!”
Image source: sugar182
#23
dont_u_know wrote:
“You can garlic bread whenever you want.”
lipidlasagna521 wrote:
“What if the bread doesn’t want to be garliciked tho?”
Image source: dont_u_know
#24
“Have you ever built a pillow fort with your SO, got snacks, beer and then f***ed in it? That’s the real sh*t haha.”
Image source: SirTheadore
#25
“No kids 3 money.”
Image source: Ok-Vast-5459
#26
FunkyEchoes wrote:
“I wanted to go back into skateboarding, spent a week really wishing i could have a skateboard….. To then realize “wait a minute, I’m a grown a** man ! I have a salary ! I can buy a Skateboard whenever I want !” !! So… long story short, I have 4 skateboards now !”
reverze1901replied:
“Definitely this. Mine was skis. Been renting my whole life and woke up one day remembering i now have the money to buy my own set! So i go to the slopes, put on my new skis, and see people zipping down the mountain gracefully. Decided i want to ski like that, so i signed up for a couple 1:1 lessons. That went on for a couple seasons, now i can ski down anything.”
Image source: FunkyEchoes
#27
“Realizing that there are so many things that you really don’t need to give an F about, just as you’re running out of F’s to give.”
Image source: Fun_Collection5882
#28
“If you have disposable income you can spend it on ANYTHING. Including all your childhood toys you wanted and noones to stop you. Videogames? Buy away.”
Image source: InsertBluescreenHere
#29
“Not having to appease your family anymore.”
Image source: thatguywiththeposts
#30
“There is something empowering about facing the challenges of life on your own. Using the skills and lessons you have learned to stride confidently into the future. I love that feeling.”
Image source: Spodson
#31
“If you’re mad at someone or don’t like someone, you won’t have to talk to them ever again if you don’t want to. And you can let them know as much too, and as long as it doesn’t break a law nobody can tell you off.”
Image source: dentastic
#32
“Cooking (or rather grabbing anything out of the fridge at 2 am) possibly naked, but not giving af.”
Image source: littleliongirless
#33
“I can be Bilbo Baggins exploring places both abandoned and not abandoned. I love underground places, ruins and dark tourism.”
Image source: BogatyrOfMurom
#34
“When I first crossed into “adulthood” I would say yes to just about anything cause I was a people pleaser, and it caused a lot of mental health sh*t in my head. Then my therapist taught me the art of “Joyful Yes and Confident No”, basically meaning only say “Yes” when you actually mean it, not just cause you don’t wanna disappoint. And saying “No” without worrying about disappointing anyone or upsetting someone, you say “No” because you mean “No”.”
Image source: citruslighting
#35
“Being able to drive to the cinema and see a showing at midnight if I want to.”
Image source: MaxTennyson88
#36
Pale_Currency_134 wrote:
“If I think of something I want, I just acquire it in most cases. Also, when I get gas, I always fill the tank, and I seldom even look at the price.”
InsertBluescreenHere responded:
“same with groceries. like yea stupid inflation things am i really gonna just NOT buy milk cuz its $0.40 higher? i did forgo eggs when they were stupid priced but never really liked eggs anyways. I just buy what i want and b*tch later lol Like im not gonna sacrifice quality or tastes just to save a buck.
gas yea i got a gas station credit card so when i use it at their stations its 10 cents off a gallon – save some money but its not like i can just say nah not buyin any so i just top it off every time. pay it off every month and collect rewards points.”
Image source: Pale_Currency_134
#37
“I can make my own medical decisions! I pick my haircut! I eat what I want to and when I want to! I don’t have to explain myself when i go somewhere! This sh*t rules!”
Image source: aroaceautistic
#38
“Having dinner, watching TV, and smoking w**d with my best friend is truly one of my favorite ways to spend time. He’s out of town right now but will be back tomorrow night, and within an hour or so we’ll be on my porch getting high and enjoying the gorgeous spring weather we’re having right now. F*cking glorious.”
Image source: lollipopfiend123
#39
SweetHomeElazig wrote:
“Doing childish stuff with more money.”
sckurvee added:
“I work solely to fund my hobbies.
Also to support my househole, but whatever.”
Image source: SweetHomeElazig
#40
“Having a car is pretty cool, gets me further than my bike did lol.”
Image source: TotalTreefall
#41
“Work is a lot easier than school and you get paid to do it. It’s a win/win.”
Image source: Tiaan
#42
“Having time to grow. I don’t mean physically, but real personal growth. When you’re young you’re just doing your best to roll with the punches, but once you’re older you get a chance to look back on your mistakes and figure out what you could be doing better.
For instance, you may look back and realize you had a hard time making friends. It seems inescapable at that age, but when you’re older you realize that you’ve changed over time, and if you’ve changed from the past to the present then that means you can change from the present to the future. So you start socializing more, learning from your new mistakes, and before you know it you have relationships you’ll cherish until you die.
The more effort you put into improving yourself (I don’t mean that Andrew Tate gigachad bullsh*t, but real work on being a better version of yourself), you start to realize you can decide who you want to be. The line between who you are and who you see the best version of yourself being gets slimmer and slimmer, and you eventually become this beautiful amalgamation of the scars from your experiences and a walking demonstration of your wildest dreams.
When I was a young teen, I had no idea who I was or who I wanted to be, but I kept trying new things and kept reiterating myself and I’m very happy with who I became. It takes a lot of work and introspection, and you’ll fail a million times over, but if you never give up on your vision you will have a life you can be proud of, even if it’s not exactly what you thought it would be.”
Image source: SnoLeppard13
#43
“Adult money. That’s about it really.”
Image source: AdmiralClover
#44
“The independence.”
Image source: Mrjohnwick786
#45
“Getting into a serious romantic relationship.
Meeting their parents.
Realising all parents are f*cking weird in their own wonderful ways.”
Image source: ParrotChild
#46
“I’ll tell you when I’ve grown up, but that will be a while from now, I’m only 50. Jokes aside, it’s cool to be good at what you do for a living (which chances are you will be because you get to choose what it is), it’s cool to not have to ask your parents or anyone for permission to do what you like. It’s super cool to see your kids grow up and become better versions of yourself but also completely different people. It’s cool when they say that they have a good youth because frankly, mine s*cked.”
Image source: ThreeLivesInOne
#47
“I think consent is a very cool thing. As a child you’re not legally allowed to choose anything and any consent you get for anything else comes from an adult. As an adult I can choose to go on the scariest amusement park ride or eat an entire family sized bag of chips…. and no one can stop me.”
Image source: garlicroastedpotato
#48
“Waiting until the day i snap and go “oh, i can order beekeeping stuff and keep bees in my own house now and there’s no mom here to care about it.”
Image source: TheDoomslayer69420
#49
“I am sitting here at a restaurant right now on a business trip for two days. Nothing on my schedule until 6pm. Nice hotel, nice lunch. Nice beer. Maybe a park. Yep. Adult is better.”
Image source: sstinch
#50
8champi8 wrote:
“I can buy a cake right now, and you can’t stop me.”
sleepyJoesBidet replied:
“Hold my beer.”
Image source: 8champi8
#51
“Doing kids stuff while drunk. I would highly recommend sledding with a good buzz.”
Image source: Pennywise626
#52
“Not having to explain yourself.
Sure, you can explain yourself if you want to be polite or friendly, but one of the greatest things I’ve found about being a grown adult is that I don’t owe anyone an explanation for why I want to do something.”
Image source: LeicaM6guy
#53
“You no longer have to worry about whether you’re gonna eat that day or if you’re gonna be t*rtured by the people who own you.
Now you can choose homelessness over ab*se.”
Image source: notarealgrrl
#54
“I love going to trampoline parks and I don’t understand why this is supposed to be an activity for children. It’s a great cardio workout that burns tons of calories, the next day I can definitely feel that I got an ab workout, and I get to be a 34 year old man doing backflips. It’s awesome.”
Image source: hair_brained_scheme
#55
“Having money and being able to drink legally instead of drinking self made alcohol drinks that taste awful in the forest.”
Image source: Liiskamato
#56
“I certainly don’t miss giving to get around using public transportation because where I live it’s just generally awful and such a huge time sink. If I wanted to get to the mall, it would be a f*cking day trip there, vs 20 mins by car. Pretty much the same with work, I’d have to get way too early just to spend 3 hours taking the bus to work when it was 30 mins by car.
Public holidays were the worst because buses would not operate that day, so I’d end up having to either call out or walk to work.
Having a car is such a blessing lol.”
Image source: utopicunicornn
#57
“My son tells me I was a good mom, but I worry that I wasn’t… being a single mom was stressful, I yelled way too much. My son just tuned me out most of the time.
He’s grown to be such a great guy, despite me, I believe.”
Image source: phoenix762
#58
“Living by myself and doing what I want. If I want to eat candy and blast Iron Maiden at 3 in the morning I can do that (I have a detached house out in the country). If I suddenly want to spend the whole weekend on a car show far away, or go on a road trip to look at some old lump of steel with 4 wheels that happens to be for sale I can do that. I really like the freedom. When I was a kid I was d*ad sure that being an adult would be better, and so far I have been right. There are downsides, and there have been problems that all adults have to face, but overall it has been worth it.”
Image source: Ashtar-the-Squid
#59
“Most casino’s offer some sort of rewards card. Sign up for that and usually they’ll mail or email you monthly offers with coupons for free rooms, meals, usually 10 or 20 bucks of free slot play and stuff like that. The casinos near me have really nice rooms and great restaurants so it’s like a monthly free mini vacation.”
Image source: Paddock9652
#60
“My wife and I will play the game at Costco or Meijer about how much the total will be. I’m usually pretty wrong because I have no idea how much any of this sh*t costs.”
Image source: zaminDDH
#61
“Getting to the point where you meet someone and their parents try to impress YOU.”
Image source: teneggomelet
#62
“I can have s*x and not sneak to do it.
I have a good paying job and can afford all my hobbies.
I can drink alcohol and not sneak to do it.
I can go where ever I want for the most part and no one can stop me.
I can stay up as late as I want and no one can stop me.
I can go to the store on Tuesday and buy a sheet cake simply because I want to.
I can go to the park and take a duck or goose home.
I can make tiny humans and no one can tell me I’m being irresponsible.
Did I say I can have s*x yet?”
Image source: Inner-Nothing7779
#63
“Being able to say that i’m an adult.”
Image source: I_eat_juice_at_night
#64
GrandPerspective5848 wrote:
“Most people younger than me look at me and think I’m an adult with a ‘life’. Little do they know…”
-AE86Tofu- added:
“life? haha.. ha.. ha… *sobs into empty bank account and long working hours*.”
Image source: GrandPerspective5848
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