Beginning to Adult

I got my voting registration card from my local board of elections the other day. I plan to vote early in local elections later this June; I’ll probably vote Democrat but I still should run a background check on everyone to assure the alignment of ideals. It feels validating to finally have some control over how my community (even if I won’t be here frequently for much longer) and country works after feeling like an insignificant pebble for so long.

The general election should make for some interesting discussions my sophomore year of college.

I am now the proud owner of my own checking account; it is completely untied to my parents. I also now have a Zelle through my bank and finally got full access back to my PayPal after having it be locked down for being a minor. When the first deposit hits my account sometime next week from my internship, I will for the first time have money that isn’t physical that I have full control over. I’m planning on using my initial paycheck to buy a drawing tablet for taking notes in the fall and geting an ergonomic keyboard for my wrists, but I may change my mind.

I currently am doing a repeat summer internship at Streamforge; as the adjetive implies, I also worked there in 2022. Doing remote work, especially in the career I love, rocks. I appreciate that my boss just trusts me to get work done because I like doing it; I do give him regular updates about what I’m doing, of course. Last year, I regularly used my lunch break to go on walks and occasionally go out to eat; I plan to do the same this year as well, as it was great for my mental health and enabled me to listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. Finally, the ability to buy my parents a new A/C as a gift, pay the internet bill, and purchase myself a graphics card was transformational for me. I finally could do things for people other than myself with my keyboard and mouse. I definitely need to write a full post about my internship and what I’ve learned as a post at some point.

I felt for the longest time that networking was kind of icky. The idea of a transactional relationship which LARPs as a normal one felt very off. Now, as someone who is slowly but surely building a web of connections, I realize that meeting people is a lot of fun, and rewarding not just for me, but for them as well; they want to see me succeed! Part of the goal of this blog is to maintain that web by sharing my thoughts with others very asynchronously. I hope I can continue to build a network that can I rely on and that can rely on me.

I have been on a plane six times this year, all in the timespan of two months. During that time, I’ve made the realization that, as much as I love my family, it feels good to be on my own. Wake up and sleep on my schedule, not on theirs. Go on long walks in unfamiliar places. Buy a pint of ice cream and eat it on a bench with a crap plastic spoon in the cold. Pace up and donw a room without getting in anyone’s way.

I am so close to being on my own, having the freedom to screw up and pick up the pieces without a bunch of people looking at me funny. If I could write this post in the comfort of a studio, I’d be quite pleased with myself. I guess that’s what I’m working towards as I walk down this road to independence. I’m really an adult now, huh? Guess it just hits different when you’re the big one-eight.