Our friendly neighbourhood sibling, “Chat GPT”, has the floor today. In this episode of 31 Blocks and Still With My Folks, I sit down with my guest, Charles Enek, to laugh (and yes, maybe cry) about the realities of adulthood. What once looked like freedom now comes wrapped up in bills, responsibilities, and vibes mixed with stress—and even Chat GPT had to remind us of the things we thought we’d outgrow, but somehow never did.
First, we dig into that promise we heard when we were younger: “Grow up and you’ll be free.” But the punchline is that adulthood arrived with its own fine print. Instead of running wild in the fields of possibility, we got apartment leases, utility bills, and meetings we didn’t know existed. The dream looked like limitless space; the reality looked like schedules, deadlines, and a constant quest just to keep up. Suddenly, freedom meant choosing which bill to pay first, and “vibes” meant squeezing a weekend in between laundry and errands.
Then we got a little real: we asked, “What did we think we’d outgrow, but never have?” And Chat GPT stepped in with cheeky reminders—things like having to text your landlord, feeling weirdly excited about discounted groceries, or thinking 10 p.m. was a late night (and then falling asleep by 10:30). These little betrayals of youthful expectation hit hard, because we all believed we’d shed them. We didn’t. We just learned to mask them with humour and resilience.
One of the most honest parts of our talk: if adulthood is a scam, let’s laugh about it together. Because in admitting our bewilderment, our exhaustion, our still-not-fully-grown selves, we find camaraderie. We realise that the bills, the responsibilities, the stress—they’re not badges of honour, they’re shared experiences. And sometimes the best way to fight them is to grab a mic, sit with a friend, and say: “Hey—this sucks, but let’s make the most of it anyway.”
We also reflect on what it means to “adult”. According to sources, the term itself—“adulting”—spoke to a transition: doing the things adults do (taxes, bills, errands) while still feeling like the kid you once were. TIME+1 In our conversation, we acknowledge that we never quite feel done with growing up; we’re just getting better at navigating the ride. We share stories of when we thought we’d have it all figured out by now… and how those stories ended differently.
Finally: the takeaway. Maybe we won’t ever fully “arrive” at a perfect adulthood. Maybe the freedom we were promised is more about having the dignity to choose—for ourselves, within the framework of responsibilities—rather than being unbound. And even if that sounds less glamorous, it’s still worthy of laughter, reflection, community. Because when you sit down with a friend (and even Chat GPT) and say, “I thought I’d be different by now,” you find out you’re not alone—and the laughter becomes the glue.
