I was a child who felt she was already a grown-up and often questioned how I ended up in a child’s body. I clearly remember one such incident when I was in 3rd grade. I sat at my desk in class, but felt so uneasy. That day just felt so strange. So I waited until we had a break and I walked up to my teacher, Mr. Trombone, and asked…

“Mr. Trombone, do you ever get the feeling that you’re here, existing, but not actually here?”

He stared at me, wild-eyed. Then he blinked a few times, gulped, and said, “No, go sit back down.”

Those questions never stopped, and I realized that I couldn’t wait to grow up–as long as I skipped 19 years old. My older brother was 19 and as such, I had decided that 19 was a gross age.

As a child, I had this feeling that if I could just become an adult, I could find all of the answers I wanted.

Fast forward to adulthood.

Now that I’m here, sometimes I feel like a kid, other times I don’t. However, the one thing I’ve noticed that’s common amongst all adults, especially those of us who are a part of the burgeoning/confused Generation Y, are the Fears of Adulthood.

In fact, the Fears of Adulthood cripple us so much, that those of us who were nerdy children like me who loved to read, question the world around them, and live life with a general sense of wonder, stopped doing all of the things that made us authentically true to ourselves.

The 5 Fears of Adulthood (+ the voices that accompany them)

1. Fear of being wrong

“Being wrong means being yelled at or having a boss yell at you. No one wants that.”

2. Fear of not having the answers

“You’re supposed to have all of the answers, aren’t you? If you don’t, why are you even here?”

3. Fear of making mistakes

“Making a mistake? Pfft. You’re supposed to be a perfectionist. Only the weak make mistakes.”

4. Fear of the unknown

“Well, I don’t know what that is, so screw that. More than likely, it’ll end up causing more trouble than good because I don’t know anything about it.”

5. Fear of being judged

“If I do ______ then people will laugh at/talk about me. No thanks, I want to be cool.”

What no one tells us is that the very things that we’re afraid of are essential to growing up and living a fun and fulfilled life. As children, we had such a good time because we didn’t let these fears get in our way.

We acknowledged fears and smashed right through them to find something amazing on the other side. Nowadays, we feel it’s easier to sweep our fears under the rug instead of confronting them head on.

How can you learn what is right if…

How can you gain knowledge if…

How can you learn to do it better if…

How can you become an explorer of life if…

How can you gracefully accept criticism if…

You don’t take the leap?

Take a look within yourself and try to figure it out: what’s holding you back from your nerdy potential for greatness?

July 2014 Issue