I had been waiting from pre-teen, through teenage years, and past my young adult years. Wonder, waiting, hoping I would someday feel like I had “grown up” and was an “adult” now.
That’s the trick: it never happens. There’s little difference between a “kid” and an “adult” besides obvious physical maturation. You just get new things to juggle and new worries. Bills and job instead of homework. Kids and coworkers and friends (if you’re lucky) instead of HS drama. I still don’t feel that much different at the core than I did at ~18 and that was 19 years ago.
Funny story, instead of referring to groups of adults as " hey guys," I like to refer to them as “hey kids.” You know how many grown adults I’ve had object to this? Zero. Not one. Ever.
We all know it’s true
My wife has younger brothers, she still refers to them as “the boys” even though they’re close to 40…
Even then half the time I’m the one playing with the kids doing fun shit while a bunch of older adults sit around and gossip lol.
Kids know what’s up.
I’ve always thought the distinction between adult and child was just being able to take care of yourself and others vs. needing to be taken care of.
Obviously there’s complexities and nuances there but it’s the best rule of thumb I’ve found.