Twenty-something.

So for those of you who aren't aware (and shame on you!!), my birthday was yesterday.  I am 23.  Twenty-three.  Twenty-who-is-even-keeping-count-anymore? Twenty-something.  I am officially a "twenty-something." You know, that age group of people caught in that awkward stage of "I am an adult but no one takes me seriously yet."  I feel like when I was younger, people in their 20's were older and more mature, and I honestly feel like I might have missed the boat somewhere because I feel like I am nowhere close to being mature.  That could be due to my inappropriate sense of humor or blatant dislike of conventional things, or the fact that I am scared to be a grown-up and count on myself for financial stability (or lack there of), or the fact that I am sometimes treated like I know nothing about anything.

But back to the part about being an adult and no one taking me seriously yet... Why is that? Yes, I know that 23 is not old, but when I was 18 I thought that maybe the world would start to take notice that I can legally make decisions for myself, but that was not the case.  Then, when I turned 20 I thought this is the age that people start to take you seriously, but that was also not the case on account of I had an employer talk to me like I was 5 for an entire summer.  Turning 21 and 22, no difference.  I am on day one of being 23, and I can't really tell you if there has been a change, but I know that there isn't a magical age where people one day will begin to look at you like an adult.

My theory is that no one takes twenty-somethings seriously.  For some reason, college age people and older are treated about the same way high school students are treated.  Maybe the entertainment corporations have made us all seem like a bunch of indecisive and irresponsible drunks who are lovesick or neurotic and are still trying to "find themselves" or "find their place in this world," and because we don't really know yet, we cannot be fully accepted into the adult world.  Maybe the magic age is 25... And when those of us "twenty-somethings" under 25 have to specify our age, we are in the 18-24 category... still grouped with teenagers.  Maybe in two years, I will be taken seriously.  Until then... well, I guess I am just going to have to brace myself for disappointment when another "real adult" speaks to me like I am a toddler.  Can't wait.