As a kid/teenager were you keen on doing adult things?

Post Reply New Topic

Did you find it important and were excited about reaching the age to be (officially) allowed to for example go to the disco, stay out late, smoke or drive?

I think during secondary school (I think it's called high school in the US) I was already looking forward to someday going to university. I imagined there would be little if any bullying there. Not sure if that counts, but I was very eager to go from age 13 to 18 asap.

I hated being a kid. I couldn't wait to become an adult.

I never wanted to smoke or drink, though. I tried both when I was young--didn't turn out well.

I was eager to grow up for freedom. Also people do not listen to your ideas as a kid, or they just humour you and say thats cute but they might take you seriously as an adult.

Ok, thanks for your replies first of all. The reason I'm asking is because there are some things which seem to me of great significance to most people and I even as a kid couldn't care less about. It would never have ocurred to me to try smoking or drinking for example or go to some crowded place with terribly loud music, because I just couldn't see the point, especially not how it would make one more adult, but lots of people seem to think that it does, don't they? I.e. that you are just supposed to do these things as a young person.
To be able to go to university and study only subjects and topics I was actually interested in, now that was something though I was also very happy about, and school was much nicer, too when most of my classmates finally got some brains and stopped being so nasty to those were different in some kind of way.

In order to be a well-rounded person (i.e., a Renaissance person), you have to take subjects which you don't necessarily like. Sometimes, you might become surprised, and start liking what you hated previously.

I had something similar happen to me. Back when I was in high school. I had to take an art class, and I had a choice between ceramics or theater. I chose theater because I though the ceramics was for girls. Turns out's, Theater was the best class I've ever taken in school. And even though it's not a subject of interest(or obsession) for me. Just the environment, the teacher and other students made it one of the most enjoyable classes I've ever taken. I love being in that class far more then I did going to math and science, and those where my subjects of interest and obsession.

I didn't care about being a kid when I was one (not the age lol) and then I was scared of growing up when I was 10-12 and then I was eager to grow up so I could have freedom and grown ups had all the power and kids didn't lol. I was pretty excited to see that you got to pick your own classes in high school and as you get into higher grades, you have more electives. High school is about the time you try to explore your careers and your strengths and see what you are good at before you go to college.

No. I did what I wanted regardless of whether I was allowed to or not. Being able to do adult things legally was not important. I never wanted to grow up to begin with.

sometimes also you may become interested in the some topics of the very same subjects you were disinterested at school only later in life and then having had them at school will be a good foundation. so yes, having different subjects at school is a good thing. Bu it's also nice when the time comes to disover what you are really interested in and good at and then be able to focus on that entirely.

Even when I was 5, I really wanted to age-accelerate through childhood and adolescence straight to age 21. I hated everything about being a child with every fiber of my being. No need to explain how or why childhood is unpleasant; it should be obvious. I wanted to work (school was just makework/busywork in my mind), have money, and drink alcohol. The last one is ironic, since my family was never big on drinking; I must have picked things up from TV or being outside at a late hour. All I "knew" is that alcohol was some super-duper-happy potion that only adults were allowed to have. (And some of my happiest moments as an adult do involve alcohol.) Conversely, I hated cigarettes, although I do smoke now.

Not really. I have disabilities that keep me from driving & I lived in a rural town with nothing to do on a major highway with no sidewalks. I also never wanted to smoke & I never really wanted to drink either. The main thing I wanted was to be done with school.

I like the idea of the autonomy that comes with being an adult. Like the idea of being able to jump in my car and get tacos from the drive-thru at 2am. But likely for me I will be just as dependent and restricted as an adult as I am now

I realize that you have a much more severe case of autism than I do, but I improved quite a bit after the age of 20. Granted, I was on antidepressants, and I think they relieved some of my anxiety, which allowed me to force myself to interact with people and try new things. It was nevertheless a huge struggle.

I am still far, far, from normal. But I learned to drive, even though it wasn't until my early twenties. And I had a part-time job. I managed to get some college education, although it took forever and cause quite a few breakdowns.

I really hope for you that you are able to gain some autonomy. You are obviously extremely bright, so I think that your intelligence gives you an advantage that others in your position don't have.

But you should really try making your own tacos, even when you are able to drive. Drive-thru tacos suck. I make my own flour tortillas for tacos and they are great

not really

I did not want to do "adult" things even as a teen, I thought most adult things were stupid and dangerous. I wanted to be like Peter Pan and be a kid forever, even if that meant my parents eventually getting old and not having anyone to take care of me. I thought most adults were miserable and unhappy, they can't do anything fun because they have to work, and then when they do have time for fun they're too exhausted to do anything. Plus, they were going to DIE soon. Adults are more likely to get life-threatening diseases and their bodies get weak and they lose resistance to disease and injury as they age. They lose their hair. Their teeth. It's scary.

I could not for the life of me understand why any kid would want to be grown up, even as a kid myself. The few good things about my being an adult is that I no longer have to go to school and I have a lot more freedom and control over my life. But I spent much of my adult life having to fight all the so-called professionals who thought they knew what was wrong with me and kept telling me what to do, and go through all kinds of torture just to do what I'm doing now.