Adulthood is a Scam!

Adulthood is a Scam: Where is the Refund?

There is a comment I saw on Facebook that had me nodding aggressively in agreement. A Nigerian lady said, "When I had to pay my bills for the first time, I wished I could enter my mama’s belle. Small pikin is the luckiest human being in this world. Just stay at home and watch Peppa Pig. Adulthood is a bloody nightmare. Happy Mother’s Day to me and all moms out there."

First of all, she did not lie. Not even a little bit. Right now, in Nigeria, they are celebrating Mother’s Day, but here in South Africa? Nope, we are waiting until May. However, this post hit me so hard that I had to sit down and reflect—on life, on bills, on why I was ever in a rush to grow up.

Let me tell you, children are the VIP members of society. They just cry, and boom—food appears. They throw a tantrum, and suddenly, they have new toys, snacks, and someone rocking them to sleep. Meanwhile, here I am, a full-grown human being, applying for jobs like it’s my full-time career, refreshing my emails every five minutes, hoping for an interview invitation. At this point, even a rejection email would be better than the silence.

See, I’m on a gap year. Not by choice, oh no. Life simply said, “You don’t have the money for school? Sit down.” And so, here I am, sitting. I had grand plans, but those plans required rands, and my bank account looked me in the eyes and said, “What plans? We don’t know them.”

And the worst part? The dependency.

Relying on my parents for everything is painful. It burns. I need money, but I have none. I want something, but I can’t buy it unless my parents decide to bless me. And let me tell you, their version of financial blessings is not the one from heaven above. It's the one where they hand you just enough to survive, not thrive.

The struggle is so real that my entire life is now money-themed. My WhatsApp wallpaper? A bundle of money. My lock screen? Money. My home screen? Also money. My music playlist? Nothing but songs about wealth. Money, Money, Money by ABBA? On repeat. She Works Hard for the Money? Absolutely. I Wanna Be Rich? Say no more.

At this point, I’m beyond desperate. I’m money-starved. Everything I want to do requires money, and the economy is looking at me like, "Good luck with that." But you know what? There’s still hope for the living, right? The power of the tongue, right?

Until then, I’ll be here, applying for jobs, surviving off my parents, and side-eyeing every baby that gets handed a bottle while I stress over adulthood.

Children, you don’t know how good you have it. Stay where you are. Don’t grow up. It’s a scam. 💯

Key words:

Belle: tummy

Pikin: kid, child, offspring