1. Being able to drink at airport bars.
And on planes, and trains, and really anything involving transportation. Sure, you knew when you turned 21 that the world was now your (booze-soaked) oyster, but there is really no sensation quite like hearing your flight's delayed and being able to knock back an overpriced Sam Adams instead of fighting fellow passengers for the only outlet at your gate.
2. Buying WHATEVER YOU WANT at the drugstore.
3. Buying WHATEVER YOU WANT at the grocery store.
Three boxes of cookies? Five different types of cheese? They're yours, boo. (Until you hit your credit limit, because it turns out that fancy cheddar is the razor blade cartridge of the grocery store world.)
4. Eating WHATEVER YOU WANT for dinner.
5. ...But also having the resources/wherewithal to (sometimes) make good healthy meals.
6. And the desire to share those meals with your friends.
7. Slowly but surely figuring out what you want, sex-wise, and how to ask for it.
Way less thrashing around like a mute pair of eels and way more "yes yes keep doing that hmm OK maybe not quite ahhh yes that."
Actually, this goes for all of life, not just sex, but sex is rad, so.
8. And needing way less validation from the people you're attracted to.
9. Getting to have a space that's just yours.
10. Experiencing the tiny thrill of satisfaction that comes from completing a boring but necessary grown-up task.
11. And experiencing the resounding thud that there are no merit badges for going about the everyday business of being a person.
12. Getting to go out on a Tuesday and be in bed by 8:30 on a Friday.
13. Knowing which karaoke songs you sound great on and which you should just leave alone.
14. Even if you never considered yourself a "math person," realizing you actually have a baseline understanding of personal finance.
15. Realizing that you value solo, unscheduled time more than life itself.
16. And finding yourself doing activities that you never thought you'd love to do alone.
17. Learning that being an adult isn't amassing a collection of markers, but an ongoing process.
18. Enjoying Brussels sprouts.
