“To My Fellow Kid Adults” by Yamini Vyas

I was once told by a 3-year-old that I’m a “kid adult.” His toddler innocence brought me to gentle laughter, but the more I thought about it, he wasn’t wrong. 

Technically, we do enroll in college as adults. However, college is when our intricate journey of self-discovery is only just getting started. Choosing a college, a major, a career pathway was hard enough. And now the pressure of finding your true identity, your purpose gets thrown into the mix too?

As dedicated students, we are already incredibly involved, offering our precious time up to various extracurriculars, organizations, and job opportunities. Add our Honors course load to that, and there’s even less time left in the day. So when exactly are we taking a step back and reflecting on who we really are? Why do we really do these things? What do we really want from our lives? When asked, many of us, including myself, struggle to answer these types of questions. And personally, I am not a fan of that. I need certainty. I want to know more about myself, don’t you? 

As the pandemic raged, and we were all stuck at home, I finally saw a clear opportunity to dive into the realm of profoundness. There was absolutely no excuse left for me to avoid introspection. Journaling was my first thought. Excitedly, I ordered myself a cute, little notebook and some colorful, fine tip pens. For the first couple days, my mind buzzed with simple thoughts and ideas, as I rushed to pen them down. But eventually, those surface-level notions became tedious. I knew I had more to say, deeper considerations to offer. Still, I felt lost on what to write. There was so much to say, but I just didn’t know how to express it. The phrase “kid adult” echoed through my mind once again. This soul-searching thing was going to take more active effort than I had thought. 

Back to square one, I found myself two guided journals: “300 Writing Prompts” and “The Story of My Life.” Filled with a mix of casual, lighthearted prompts, as well as deep, thought-provoking ones, these were the perfect outlets to learn more about myself. Rather than aimlessly scribbling away on blank pages, I was able to start contemplating my answers. This time around, the leading questions served as the perfect navigator, as I discovered all the diverse aspects of my personality that I had never given proper attention to before. 

It’s true that I haven’t completely figured out my purpose yet. It’s true I still have a long way to go. But I am definitely much closer than before. Of course there are many more approaches one can take for such deliberation, but my love for writing drew me to this creative medium. 

Many of us have started improving our methods of self-care, and as great as that is, our methods of self-discovery are sometimes still lacking. What we must all realize is that as we go through college, finding ourselves is just as important as paving the way for our careers. That way, we can progress from kid adults, into full-blown adult adults.