What marks the transition to adulthood? Living on your own, taking care of yourself, paying the bills, getting a job, gaining financial stability, having a family, etc. The list goes on. These are all steps to gaining the trust and confidence of people who have seen you grow and cannot stop seeing you as a kid.

It may not be possible to satisfy all these criteria at an early enough point in life. That’s why the real test of adulthood is not ticking check boxes but rather getting to a point where we take ownership of our fears, successes, failures and make decisions for the right reasons, unencumbered by the need to prove ourselves to others. This is not an overnight process, it takes time and several missteps and painful lessons. But it has to start with a single first step, motivated by one thing – proving to yourself that you will grow.