Why "adulting" needs to stop

In recent years, the term “adulting” has skyrocketed in its use to mean the responsibilities associated with being an adult. “To adult” means to take on the responsibilities of a normal adult, such as doing the laundry, paying bills, working a steady job, etc. Many people have started using this word as a verb in their dictionary to express their transformation from living within their parent’s care to living on their own. It is not altogether uncommon to hear someone who just payed off their first bill say, “Man, I just adulted today.” Or, if someone admits to tiredness after being responsible for themselves from doing grown-up things, such as buying and cooking their meals, cleaning up after themselves, working, and exercising, they might say, “I adulted too hard, it’s time for Netflix and ice cream.” These examples display how the use of this word can have a negative effect on the attitudes towards becoming an adult. It is good to recognize this growth from parental reliance to independence as an accomplishment. However, bragging about this change, which should be viewed as a difficult but necessary one, glorifies the difficulties associated with being an adult to an unhealthy extent.
 
Becoming an adult and accepting the responsibilities with it can be a challenging thing, but it is also a challenge which everybody has to go through, and one which ultimately should be anticipated. Once someone reaches the legal age of adulthood, they should be ready for independence. Around the age of fifteen, many teenagers will start working odd jobs, such as babysitting or walking dogs. Some may even work more official jobs, such as working at restaurants or clothing stores.  At the age of sixteen in most states, teenagers can test for their driver’s license, and learn how to transport themselves to their own activities. But even perhaps more importantly than driving or having a job, teenagers start understanding the world at deeper levels. They have more advanced thought processes, and have already formed judgments about their upbringing–agreeing and disagreeing with certain things. Thus, after experiencing life for eighteen whole years, people should be ready to take care of themselves. They have most likely received an education, had the opportunity to work, and been able to think about things at a more advanced level.
 
Through using the diction of today’s culture, young adults glorify the challenges they face, and more easily succumb to complaining or abandoning their responsibilities. Throwing about the “verb” of “adulting” in daily speech shows that doing that which is expected of someone should be praised instead of assumed. It gives something which should be accepted and anticipated–independence–a negative connotation, and thereby drains youth from their anticipation of independence.