An Open Letter To All The 20-Somethings Living With Their Parents

Like many of the other 20-somethings I’ve met, I can happily spend all day binge-watching Netflix, sleeping and stalking my exes on social media.

But, there’s a pride we should all take in this silver-lined (okay, maybe more so alcohol-lined) decade of our lives. We make mistakes and are regarded as children and adults simultaneously. By age 21, America says we’re mature enough to handle alcohol. By 22, (or whenever you graduate from college), banks think you’ve magically come into enough money to pay back those absurd student loans.

So, wake up. You’re not 15 anymore and being a homebody isn’t cute — it’s a sign of dependency and weakness.

Life should not be like “Failure to Launch” — get your act together and grow up. Trulia Trends reported that 31.6 percent of all 18 to 34-year-olds were living at home in 2013 — that’s a large percentage of our generation. While there are, of course, many viable reasons someone would live at home throughout his or her 20s, there are plenty of unhealthy reasons as well. So many “kids” simply hang out at home enjoying the rent-free luxuries and need a swift kick into life.

Your parents aren’t helping you by sheltering you from the big, bad world. It’s time to discover that it’s okay to be super broke and live off nothing but red wine and popcorn with four crazy roommates. It’s also okay to make mistakes, but most importantly, it’s time to let go and allow Mom and Dad to stop doing everything for you.

If you never know what it means to struggle at least a little bit in the real world, what will happen once you finally get there? Chaos. Plus, despite the free rent, free food, free laundry and awesome house, living at home leaves a bit to be desired.

Reasons living at home sucks:

1. Late-night phone calls to parents

We’ve all been in that situation of feeling a bit tipsy and/or about to hook up with someone. But, when you live at home, your parents expect to know where you’re sleeping, which can get a bit awkward. Do you think mom will really believe that you’re having a sleepover with your neighbor at age 25?

2. Nagging

Every. Single. Day. Regardless of your employment status, if you live at home in your 20s, your parents will neither regard you as an adult nor as a child. That odd limbo means that there will be no shortage of nagging.

3. Sex in the house

Making sure that your younger siblings and parents aren’t around is generally impossible, even for a short window of time. Plus, it’s your childhood bedroom… terrible memories.

4. Getting yelled at… for everything

Your parents tell you that binge-watching Netflix for the fourth day straight is not productive use of your time and it’s unacceptable to make 12 batches of cookies. Like you didn’t already know this?

Bottom line: You can't rely on your parents for everything. Struggle is good. It teaches you to be resilient, which is a quality you’ll definitely need later in life.

Photo credit: Step Brothers