By Nastacia Voisin
Relax: Being a responsible grown-up is easier than it may seem. Along with tedious adult duties like regularly dusting fridge coils, being a grown-up also involves imagining rude people are jellyfish.
At least, according to the wisdom of Portland-based reporter Kelly Williams Brown, the author of “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps” it does. In this guide, which is advertised as a how-to for navigating the young adult world, Brown dishes out witty and pragmatic advice on transitioning into the real world.
For those UP seniors who are less-than-keen on venturing into the adult world and have questions, the Alumni Office has welcomed Brown to campus on April 8 to lend some help.
As a preview, The Beacon held a conversation with Brown about the process and challenges of growing up:
You said at one point that you wrote “Adulting” for your 22-year-old self. Could you give me a picture of what that younger version of you was like?
When I was 22, I had just gotten out of college and my first job was as a general assignment reporter for Hattiesburg American Newspaper. That’s a small town in southern Mississippi. It was a really interesting experience, but I was making very little money, I had very little furniture, and what little I had dissolved in the rain (because it was made from particleboard.) I had this very tiny apartment; I was always overdrawing my bank account and bouncing checks.
Why do you think it’s so hard to be a grown-up?
I think that when a lot of us think of what makes someone a grown-up, we think, ‘Okay, grown-ups never make mistakes.’ ‘Grown-ups are always super responsible with money.’ ‘Grown-ups always have a clean fridge.’ So we create this thing that is really fictional – this person that is never feels insecure, who is competent and expert in every situation. And that’s a hard and impossible thing to do.
Tell me about the piecing-together part. How did you go through and say, ‘A, B and C are things grown-ups do?’
So the first step was to start my source-hunt. And the great thing that there were topics that everyone could weigh in on.
Sometimes it would be something that would really surprise me, when someone said it, and it really shouldn’t have. And I would think, ‘Oh, if this surprises me at age 28 while writing this, it’s probably a good idea to put it.’
What were some of the things that you found surprising about being an adult?
Well, it was really fun reporting, because with almost everything there was something useful. There was the wiping up thing, but there were also more subtle things.
Office politics for example. Just sort of being quiet when you come into a place, and working out the details. When you’re in college, you get a chance to try out your personality, and you want to make an impression and be memorable. Whereas at work, you want to come across as compete, not as a big razzle-dazzle flash.
What are one or two things about being an adult which make you think, ‘I don’t want to do this, but if I don’t, I’m not being a good grown-up?’
Oh my gosh, cleaning, absolutely. Being responsible with money. I’m really lucky in that my fiancée is all about investing and saving and he definitely prods me in that direction. He’d be like, ‘Hey, why is there a big check in the fruit bowl? That’s not where big checks go.’
There’s a lot of kind of drudgery in being a grown up. Just remembering to get toilet paper. Or remembering to wipe off the dogs paws every time so the house doesn’t get muddy. But there are a lot of perks, for me at least, because I’m taking the steps I need to do what I need to do. And I’m not wasting a ton of time feeling sorry for myself, because, well, every person in the world has to clean their house.
I give out to people all the time, but if I thought people were really taking my suggestions, I’d be terrified. What gives you the confidence to write and publish a book, knowing that a lot of people might be listening to and following your advice?
That is something that caused me a lot of anxiety and fear. The things that made me feel good about writing that book is that I was really up front about the fact that I’m not a lifestyle guru. I’m not this person who knows everything. I’m someone who has recently gone through this process myself. I’m a reporter, and that means that I can figure this out.
*This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.*
Event Details: April 8 in the Bauccio Commons Board Room Networking reception from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. with beverages and appetizers Q&A with Kelly at 6:30 p.m. All attendees must have a government-issued ID to enter. This event is open to graduates of the last decade and graduating seniors only, since there will be a bar during the networking portion of the event.
