What Were You Expecting the Start of Adulthood to Be Like?

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
06/18/2016 at 23:23 • Filed to: Thoughts

Let’s say as a 15-21 year old looking towards being 26-32. For me, I always thought at 27 I’d be a couple of years married, probably have a baby boy and a little girl on the way, just be getting into a $200k-ish home, two vehicles in the garage (no boats or bikes yet), and be a six-figure household with some well groomed animals. Maybe have an annual trip to places I can’t pronounce correctly like ArKansas. Super conservative since I’m a realist.

Now at 27 years old, all I’m trying to do is get as far from debt and as far up in my career as I can before some little filly gets my eternal fancy and we have to team up to take on all of life’s biggest financial privileges simultaneously.

Seriously, shelter, kids, cars, education, and relationships are probably the most expensive financial privileges we place onto ourselves during our lifetimes. Kind of weird that it is expected that you take on all of them when you are making the least of amount of money, the least stable, the least experienced.

All that said, I have a feeling I’m not the only one that has bumped up their expectations for 26 to be their expectations for 33 instead. I also can’t be the only one that is realizing that you don’t get old, you just get tired.

Just out of curiousity, was there any car you thought you’d be in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, or retirement? I know there’s a 911 in there, somewhere...

DISCUSSION (44)

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:29

I can tell you I never thought I’d buy a 31 year-old Celica at age 28. If I went back in time and told my 19 year-old self that, he would assume he was broke as an adult.

CB > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:30

When I was 15, I thought I’d be dead. And now I’m not. So I’m kind of just winging it from here on out.

smobgirl > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:30

I was about to say that I’m happy to finally have a car that I’m paying for and not paying to fix. And then I realized that now I have both.

When I was in college, my biggest goal in life was to have a job where I showered BEFORE work and not immediately after. That still isn't really the case.

F40LM > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:35

Die-Trying > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:37

Kinja'd!!!

too young to die old....... too old to die young.......

almost have the car put together thatll get me to the other side.... cant just retire...... gotta go out with style.....

Xyl0c41n3 > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:38

Dude, not going to lie...

Knowing how old you are puts the last thing you and I had a conversation about in a whole new perspective.

And not at all for the better.

wafflesnfalafel > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:39

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and got married at 23 - just bobbing and weaving between multiple layoffs and real-estate crashes...

Sam > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:41

I thought I’d at least have been in a single romantic relationship at 20, but hey, here I am. I also thought that I’d be able to save money, but I’m living ‘paycheck to paycheck’ (which is a loose description, since I live with my parents, so my bills are pretty relaxed). I also thought college would have gone better, but I finally found what I want to do after 2 years, so I can finally actually do well. Hopefully a political science degree works out and I can get a job with the CIA or something.

Viggen > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:41

That I’d be a fighter pilot and own a Porsche.

Instead I’m a helicopter mechanic and don’t own a Porsche. Also physically feel like I’m about 55, with a messed up back.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:42

I’m 30. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to accomplish by 30 as a teenager. I figured I’d have a way cooler job than I actually do. I knew I wanted to get married at some undetermined point, but I at least hoped to know what I want in a potential wife by 30 (and I do, but being thousands of miles away from the women that interest me sort of throws a wrench in that). I’ve gone back and forth several times on the idea of kids, and I wasn’t into cars back then. But I didn’t think I’d age as well as I have, so that’s at least one plus. The dog-child and three old Hondas are also plusses.

Wobbles the Mind > CB
06/18/2016 at 23:43

My parents had a scare with me around that age. Ever since I’m realizing I’m going to be a badass old dude, like Morgan Freeman with an assault rifle. I’m going to be the Don Juan of Rancho Cucamonga with custom wheels on my scooter.

Wobbles the Mind > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/18/2016 at 23:45

I’m very sure my 19 year old self would just be stoked to find out I would have a vehicle I didn’t have to enter through the hatch.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Xyl0c41n3
06/18/2016 at 23:45

What — the part about Arch-nemesis Kansas?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Die-Trying
06/18/2016 at 23:46

Meh, you’ll die trying.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Viggen
06/18/2016 at 23:47

But Toyota is leading Le Mans, so there’s that.

Wobbles the Mind > smobgirl
06/18/2016 at 23:47

Huh, I just realized how much the frequency of showering increased now compared to in college. *shutters*

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:48

I had a truck where the driver’s door handle broke twice. Bucket seats + stick shift + entering on passenger’s side was the day I knew that I deserved a better vehicle.

Xyl0c41n3 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/18/2016 at 23:49

No. If only it were about something that trivial.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > wafflesnfalafel
06/18/2016 at 23:50

Don’t you mean, real estate opportunities?*

Kinja'd!!!

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:51

I’m 22, single, I’ve got an IQ of 155, just graduated with a masters degree and no job yet. I start applying to firms this week. Hopefully I can import a DR30 or Alpine GTA before I’m 30. Lets see.

DipodomysDeserti > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:51

I never thought I'd live to be in my late 20s. now I'm 29 with house/wife/kids/cars/motorcycle/debt and I'll be leaving on my second family vacation to Europe next week. Life moves fast.

Sam > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:52

Oh also, I don’t fear death (old age/medical issues due to being old kind), because I have faith that science will make us all pretty much immortal. I do fear for the future of the planet in my lifetime, though.

Viggen > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch
06/18/2016 at 23:56

There is that. Now if they can keep it up for the rest of the race.

smobgirl > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:56

I mean, I was clean, but when you close lunch and dinner at a restaurant you NEED a shower the second you're off. And I closed every weekday shift for something like 2 years. Now I walk around in the woods in 100 degree weather and pray I don't end up with poison ivy.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Viggen
06/18/2016 at 23:58

I’m starting to root for them, I want them to stick around for years to come.

Alfalfa > Wobbles the Mind
06/18/2016 at 23:59

I do have a wife, child, and 2 cars in the driveway. But I didn’t expect that both cars would have keyless entry at this point in my life. So that’s a plus.

Die-Trying > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/19/2016 at 00:03

its all anybody could HOPE for really....... better than setting around waiting for your end to find you......

E92M3 > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 00:10

I was dumb at 21. I thought I would keep my 95 Civic forever. Instead of taking on a car payment I dumped hundreds a month into that car. I spent probably $30k on that thing. Of course one day I realized I couldn’t drive to lunch with the boss in THAT car, and not look silly. God I wish I had all that money back. At 36, I’m content where I’m at, but I could be even further along my bucket list of cars.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch
06/19/2016 at 00:19

Didn’t know IQ tests were still a thing

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Alfalfa
06/19/2016 at 00:20

Well look at Mr money bags over here with his “driveway"

Wobbles the Mind > Xyl0c41n3
06/19/2016 at 00:20

That conversation, there isn’t any better. Please, don’t consider giving me better.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/19/2016 at 00:22

I had to take one to get into the gifted program in school when I was younger.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 00:35

Funny thing - I’m 32 and I’m basically exactly what your plan was... Married for a few years, one son, one daughter, 2 dogs, just under $200k house, 2 cars still under factory warranty in the garage. But in my case that was far from my plan when I was 21. Back then I was looking at 30 to be single, living in a $100k cabin outside of town tending to a small army of project Jeeps and daily driving a $50k-ish 3-series. I’ve always wanted a Corvette or 911. But all this debt means it won’t happen any time soon. I’m still holding out that it could happen in my 50's. In the shorter term, my daughter loves Wranglers so the plan is to get a TJ sometime in the next few years that we can work on together and hand her the keys when she's 16.

Wobbles the Mind > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/19/2016 at 00:38

I think they stopped production back in 2014, but there is always smart.

MountainRoadPhysicist > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 00:39

I’m 27. My life went sideways. Went from working in kitchens to wanting to build video games to being a physicist. Got a house, career, cars I enjoy out of all that mess. Lost my girlfriend of 4 years not long ago, so not married and no kids. Hell, I remember telling myself I would be married at 22 and have a couple of kids not long after. So much for that one haha

f86sabre > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 00:39

I wanted to be a test pilot and completed a degree that made it a possibility. I ended up going a different way in the industry and have had the opportunity to do some extraordinary things in my professional life. At 41 I have an amazing wife, 2 kids, two houses (thanks 2008 financial crisis making our first house basically unsellable), 4 road cars, one LeMons race car and I have had the opportunity to see a lot of the world for fun and through work. Really, I have very little to complain about.

I always kind of figured we wouldn’t have kids until our 30s. My folks had me when they were in their early 20s and they had all the challenges you mentioned. We had great fun though. Getting a degree and getting established at work meant we had our kids a few years later than them. It’s all good. A bit different, but good.

Cars? I bought my Evo in 2003. I still love that car. Can't think of a replacement. I wouldn't mind an Atom or a classic Mini.

Wobbles the Mind > Alfalfa
06/19/2016 at 00:40

My grandpa grew up with keyless start. All his cars used the same screwdriver.

The Dummy Gummy > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 01:10

I’ll never understand why it isn’t taught to go to a college/trade school within your means. The amount of debt so many people are in is unreal.

It's sad.

Malanga > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 05:10

I'm still in that 15-21 range (although barely) so I won't comment yet... I might jinx myself lol

JasonStern911 > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 06:09

Lesson one, lose the goatee. It doesn’t go with your suit.

Lesson two, get a suit. Suits are cool. Exhibit A.

[ motions to his own suit, then winks to a girl off camera ]

Lesson three, don’t even think about getting married ‘til you’re 30.

FoilyDoily > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 06:51

I grew up in a place where people regularly get married just out of high school, so when I started out, I figured I would be married by 20, kids by 22, probably a low paying job in retail or as a receptionist - if we needed the second income. I figured I would drive whatever we had around, like my parents did. Used cars that ran until they didn’t and needed replaced.

Instead, I enjoyed the hell out of my 20s, moved around a lot, finally found a man I can see a future with at the tail end of my 20s, bought a house, started collecting pets, finished an advanced degree. We are VW/Audi enthusiasts, so car-wise, I am light years ahead of where I thought I would be. And I am about to set out on an awesome professional career of my own. At 33. Life doesn’t really happen the way most people expect it to and for me, that makes me really happy.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 07:03

True words, friend. I have nothing to add except you’re totally right.

sdwarf36 > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 10:49

To quote (I think) John Lennon-”Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.”

wiffleballtony > Wobbles the Mind
06/19/2016 at 18:14

When I was 15 I was an average student with no understanding of money or working outside of the fact that I knew I’d be in a cubicle. I thought Id be single but with a sweet exotic car. When I was 19 I was failing engineering and figured I’d be living at home and unemployed. When I was 21 graduating in business I realized I would be working in a cubicle but driving a used sedan. Now however I’ve exceeded most of my expectations sans the exotic car.