Adulting (v): to do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown ups.

Whoever said adulting isn’t fun doesn’t have an affinity for type II fun. If you have no idea what I mean by type II fun read this article by REI.  I have spent the last 12 months adulting tough in the city. I have chosen to get on my feet and and take care of myself in ways I haven’t before, and it has been so freaking hard and one of the most liberating things I have decided to do. I haven chosen roots for a bit, committed to a lease, pay my own rent, work 40 hours a week, sometimes more, and pay bills.

In the last year I paid off a credit card, a student loan, my car, twice, only to have it declared totaled last weekend, and paid back my dad who loaned me money while I transitioned to my current job. I chose to sacrifice location and time freedom to create more financial freedom. I mean can you say adventure?

Packing for climbing, snowboarding, and backpacking trips you have a general sense of what to expect. Most of the time you know you will come home with some funky tan lines, hysterical stories (at least to those involved), maybe some sweet photos, and with your soul full and a grin on your face. Type II or not, adventure is always fun, even if sometimes it takes being out of the situation to think so.

Unpacking into a house I just signed a lease on, dropping a hefty first-last-and deposit, and starting my first 9-5 was uncharted territory. I assumed right out of the gate it was going to be Type III kind of “fun” where it’s not actually fun and you’re actually just miserable thinking what the eff am I doing?

I loathed the idea of a 9-5. Someone telling me when I was allowed to do the things that light my soul on fire. So why was I chasing it so hard? I applied for job after job for months, took online courses on how to curate your LinkedIn, watched webinars on how to prep for and nail an interview, designed my resume on InDesign to stand out. I was chasing a career as hard as I was chasing my first crush when I was 6. Which I will say was quite terrifying and aggressive.

But I must have done something right this time, after I re-did my LinkedIn, my resume, and cover letter with all the advice of career coaches I got 4 interviews in a week, and 4 job offers at 4 amazing companies. Needless to say I felt like a hot commodity for all of 10 seconds, and then the overwhelm of having to make a hard decision set in. If my love life mirrored my career life I would… actually probably just be really overwhelmed and shut-down completely. ha.

Ask and you shall receive,  there I was, with exactly what I wanted. Job offers for real careers, 4 of them all expecting an answer in a day and a half. Sheesh next time I play around with the power of manifesting my desires I should probably be a little more specific so as to avoid having too many options. I should also probably just shut up and be super grateful that I had any options at all. But I crossed my fingers, followed my gut, turned down 3 jobs, and accepted 1 and hoped the best for the road ahead.

Here I am, almost a year later. Almost a full circle around the sun adulting everyday. Err most days. Working regular hours and having dictated free time has become habit, debt has lessened, savings has increased, and I managed to even save for Burning Man. Which whoa can I tell you what a ride that was. Having vacation time and coming home to  a full paycheck because of PAID TIME OFF, was a trip. This is my first job with PTO and it’s a little insane that I got paid money to run around Black Rock Desert. #adulting.

What I assumed would be Type III fun has honestly been Type II and sometimes just down right fun. I am grateful for the life I am creating within the realm of a normal work week. I climb at my local gym with two of my best friends every Tuesday and Thursday, I make delicious dinner’s and watch movies with my roommates, I bike commute to work 15 miles each way most days of the week, and I get out as much as possible on the weekend.

Adulting has definitely been an adjustment. But I can say I am finally at a place where it’s not so uncomfortable or scratchy around the edges. Yes my free time is more limited but I do more now with my days then I ever did when I set my schedule. My free time is precious and I squeeze every ounce of adventure out of it.

I have committed to adulting for the foreseeable future… but I still plan on living out a van, taking photos, and writing inspirational stories of my adventures. I just plan on doing it with a 401K, a hefty savings, and having no debt to pay off. 🙂