This post was originally published October 31, 2012. I'd like to go back and tell myself that, no, getting engaged doesn't make you feel more like an adult. Neither will getting married. The verdict is still out on becoming a parent, though! (And no, this isn't an announcement or anything. Just a regular Throwback Thursday post.)

I’ve always wondered when I would finally feel like an adult.

I thought it would happen at 18. But when you’re still in high school, that 18th birthday doesn’t seem so special.

Then I thought it would happen when I went away to college. But I was still relying on my parents, and there were so many things I couldn’t do.

Next, I thought maybe that 21st birthday would make me an adult. I mean, I would finally be able to drink! But that day came and went. That first glass of wine at a restaurant was pretty cool, but life went back to normal.

Graduation was the next big thing. I had to decide what job to take and where to move. Of course, with those decisions came even more big decisions. What health insurance plan to choose, how much to contribute to a 401k, how much to pay on my student loan each month…

And then I made the even bigger decision of leaving all that behind and starting a new career. I thought for sure I’d feel like an adult when I had to set up a tax ID, when I started making quarterly tax payments, when I had to choose my own health insurance plan (like actually choose a company, plan, etc).

What’s funny, is that none of those things really made me feel like an adult like watching Parenthood does. I just started watching the show, and I freaked myself out when I realized that I relate to the parents in the show more than the kids. Does that mean I’m officially an adult? That I totally side with the parents on this show rather than the kids?

I’m sure there will come a day when something else makes me feel like an adult. Maybe when I get engaged, or when I get married, or (gasp) when I do actually become a parent someday. But from what I’ve read and heard from others, you never really feel like a complete adult. I suppose there comes a time when you feel more adult than kid, but I’m not sure that kid part ever really leaves us.

So in defiance to the adult-like feeling I get when watching this show, I will watch it before 10 am while eating chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and Dr Pepper.