By Maddie Lukens, MA
“Adulting is hard.” These three words have escaped my lips and the lips of countless others. I imagine you know a few Millennials and Gen Zers – they are probably some of the younger individuals in your life (or maybe you are one yourself).
What is Adulting?
“Adulting” is the term adopted by members of these generations that describe a group of tasks related to functioning as an adult, and all the demands that come with it- such as paying bills, applying for jobs, managing money, etc. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, hang in there, I think you’ll have a clearer picture by the end of this post.
In the early 1900’s there evolved a classification system to identify the groups of people born within a certain time period, each generation is named after some defining characteristic specific to that generation. For example:
- The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945 (74-91 years old)
- Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (55-73 years old)
- Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (39-54 years old
- Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (23-38 years old)
- Generation Z: Born 1997-2012 (7-22 years old)
I want to share with you things I’ve noticed.
Being Unprepared
The younger generations (think Millennials and Gen Z-ers) have hit a significant roadblock when it comes to feeling prepared for the demands that adulthood places on them. Many more young adults and teens find themselves struggling with anxiety and depression, are lacking direction, and sometimes passion. There are a variety of factors that influence this trend such as social media use, getting married at a later age, pursuing higher education, etc. If you’re interested in learning more about the things that have shifted to result in this lack of preparation, you can check out this article.
Since we have seen such drastic shifts in preparedness, it seems like many individuals in these cohorts lack some sense of direction or initiative to take hold of their lives and make good decisions that lead them closer to their goals. Additionally, many of these individuals are lacking some helpful skills, which in turn, keeps them from experiencing success. For example, there are a handful of skills that are often not taught in schools or on a college campus. Learning how to prepare for an interview, writing a cover letter, preparing a resume, are all examples of things many of us learned from a friend or perhaps had no guidance in at all.
Adulting 101 Online Group
At Lime Tree Counseling our team is passionate about equipping and empowering the next generation to experience happiness, success, and ultimately have a positive impact on their communities. We are excited to share that we are offering an “Adulting 101” group beginning the first week in March 2021. The aim is to help prepare Millennials and Gen Z-ers alike for the challenges they might encounter as they launch into adulthood. Our hope is that they will walk away feeling more confident, prepared, and excited to experience the life they want to live.
Lime Tree Counseling offers Online Counseling to residents in Colorado as well as Pennsylvania for those seeking anxiety therapy, grief therapy, and depression therapy. Don’t hesitate to reach out today!