11 York moments that make you feel like a functioning adult

No overflowing laundry baskets or cupboards full of instant noodles in sight x

2 years ago

The transition from school to university can be HARD. University is a site of change for many transitioning from their teens into young adulthood, developing boring life skills to set them up for the future. For most students this is their first time leaving home, and therefore the first time they are responsible for looking after themselves. Moving away can be scary, but it’s amazing for growing as a person and learning along the way.

Ever had that feeling in the back of your mind, “wow that was very adult of me”. Well, here are 11 York moments that make you feel like a functioning adult:

1. Having the ‘we have food at home’ talk with yourself

Sometimes the funds are just too low and you feel as if you may as well have just set up a direct debit to the CEOs of Dominos. The “we have food at home” talk is always a tough one to have, especially when you’re the one you’re trying to convince. But stocking up on quick and easy food for when you are just not in the mood, putting down uber eats and opening the fridge, now what screams maturity more than that?

2. Meal prepping

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Following on from number one, meal prepping is a perfect way to beat back the temptation when your fingers are itching to open the Deliveroo app and it is oh so very adult. Meal prepping several portions of a meal is economically sensible as portions work out cheaper, but it also time-conscious so that one quick and easy culinary experience can feed you for half of the week. Meal-prepped food can often even be frozen and reheated for those nights when you just want something quick and inexpensive.

3. Buying a plant (and keeping it alive)

The absolute plant-mass murder at the hands of students each year is a travesty. I think we’re all guilty of deserting a plant at uni over Christmas and coming back in January to a brown withered branch. But buying a plant and actually keeping it alive is a marker of true maturity and responsibility. Would 10/10 recommend buying a plant from Botanic in town, amazing vibes.

4. Making it to a Thursday 9am after Salvos (or not going to the social altogether)

Glancing at your timetable and seeing that Thursday 9am is a truly soul-shattering experience. The act of saying no to Wednesday socials and drunken chats in the Salvos smoking area in favour of your degree sets out a functioning adult. Saying no to Jason Riley and yes to compulsory reading and an early night? You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

5. Sitting in a cafe doing work with an iced coffee

A coffee, headphones and a laptop with words docs open – the trifecta of productivity. Cafe environments are great for a change of scenery, injecting a little bit of variety into your studies in an academic way that screams a mature corporate success story.

6. Bulk buying 10 tickets for £10 for the 66

A wise investment. A smart move. The likelihood is that as a York student, you frequent the 66, perhaps in the free travel zones between campus East and West or maybe when you can’t quite be bothered to walk into town. The 10 tickets for £10 deal is great and tickets are available to both purchase and store within the First Bus app.

7. Using your 10 per cent off card in the Hull Road Co-op

Who doesn’t like saving a little bit of money on their meal deals? Co-op offers 10 per cant off which can be redeemed through their app or through signing up for a Co-op membership card. Functioning adults would definitely be wise with money, and maybe you find that now you are one.

8. Paying for your own subscriptions

Kicked off the family subscriptions? It happens to the best of us. Paying for your own Netflix, Amazon prime, Disney plus… all markers of that shift into adulthood. However, the biggest marker is, of course, paying your own phone contract. No more “can I have a new phone for Christmas mum”, adulthood is digging into your own pockets and paying for things yourself… it’s a tough life.

9. Doing laundry (and not shrinking everything)

Shrunken t-shirts, dying everything pink, leaving something important in your jeans pockets – plenty of laundry mishaps plague York’s campus. But you’re a functioning adult remember, everything is always nicely cleaned and dried. You even throw in fabric softener, oh yes you’ve got things together you smile to yourself.

10. Bringing your own packed lunch onto campus

Popping into the campus Nisa or Library cafe can be tempting. Grabbing a little bite to eat, a coffee or a meal deal is so much easier but it really does add up. Planning ahead and packing your own lunch ahead of time is the way forward – and functioning adults know this.

11. Setting yourself a budget (and sticking to it)

University and budgets are words thrown around together often, but setting a budget (and actually sticking to it) is easier said than done. The self-control to not order from ASOS every week is not easy, but you will thank yourself for the reduction in financial stress. Yes, the bills being paid are more important than buying a third pair of white trainers, you tell yourself.