Why Nobody Feels Like a Real Adult Anymore
You turn 30, 35, maybe 40 and still feel like you're winging it. No house, no clarity, no confidence. Just group chats and anxiety. Here's why.
This post contains broken promises, quiet confusion, and the slow rediscovery of something real.
Keywords: why don’t I feel like an adult, crisis of adulthood, millennial burnout, no house no kids no plan, existential dread in your 30s
The Great Letdown
At some point, you thought it would click.
Maybe when you got a proper job. Or filed taxes. Or filled the dishwasher without being asked.
But it didn’t. You’re older now. Technically an adult.
And still, it feels like you’re... pretending.
You pay bills.
You buy oat milk.
You forward emails and reply with “kind regards.”
But deep down?
You feel like someone who just arrived.
The Adulthood We Were Sold
When we were kids, adulthood had structure:
- Buy a house
- Get a job for life
- Get married
- Have kids
- Mow the lawn
- Join a bowling league
- Die (eventually)
There was a rhythm. A ladder. A town.
Adulthood wasn’t just expected—it was delivered.
And then?
