What’s a moment when you realized you were officially an adult?
I think you only truly become an adult when you lose the person who made you feel safe in a world where people are always looking for your vulnerabilities. For me, that person was my father. Whenever I fell, I knew he would be there. No matter what. Any issue, Aba was just a call away. If I needed emotional support, he was there, giving me his undivided attention. If I wanted something, I knew I could ask him. He rarely ever said no to me. I never had to question who had my back.
Losing him made me realize that life doesn’t stop when you lose your biggest support. You just have to learn to pick yourself up, protect yourself, and keep going. Even on the days when you want to give up, when all you want is them, when all you want is to feel safe again. I think that’s the hardest part of growing up: realizing that the person who always made you feel like you could handle anything is no longer there to catch you when you fall. And that has changed something in me. I am no longer the person I was. That’s what grief does to you, it changes you into a someone else. You know you’re no longer anyone’s priority anymore. It does make you strong. You grow a thicker skin to deal with this world and its people.
-Sehr

