Six recent Minnesota college grads tell us how adulting is going

Growing up in China, I wondered what it meant to be an adult. There, 18 is the legal age to drive, drink, book a hotel, sign legal documents. So I imagined that when I turned 18, it would be as if a light switch came on: Suddenly, I'd be a poised, mature adult, wise in the ways of the world.

That didn't happen. Instead, I've discovered that becoming an adult — or adulting, as it's called — is a journey, sometimes made in stages, like graduating from college.

I talked to six recent Minnesota college grads to find out how their adventures in adulting were going. Here's what they had to say, in their own words, edited for length and clarity.

Jason Tran
Graduated from: Macalester College, May 2023.
Where are you now: Admissions officer at Macalester.
Adulting challenge: There aren't as many fallbacks as I used to have if things mess up.
What I've learned: I've been in this office for four years as a campus tour guide, so I know a lot of the faces very well. One of the more surprising adulting moments for me was realizing how much responsibility I now have. When I was a campus tour guide, if people ask me about something I didn't know, I could direct them straight to an admissions counselor. Now, I'm an admissions counselor, so I have to know this information.

Manu Kannare
Graduated from: Augsburg University, May 2023.
Where are you now: Creative Intern at Noisemakers Studio.
Adulting challenge: I had my son around the same time as graduation. I was facing home insecurities. My partner and I were trying to come together and find a space for our son. So, the biggest challenge for me is to manage all these different parts of my life.
What I've learned: Being pregnant was a very adulting moment for me. I have to think of job structures and schedules that works best for me, my partner and our baby. I started to feel very sad about losing some part of my youth, but I'm very fortunate because I'm in therapy. I talk about how I'm changing as a mom, changing as a partner, and then changing as an individual, while still pursuing my dreams of becoming a full-time artist.

Zimri Leisher
Graduated from: Carleton College, June 2023.
Where are you now: Flight software engineer at Firefly Aerospace.
Adulting challenge: One thing that hit me is how much more permanent a job is than college. I am studying the same "class" for nine hours every day and there are no regular breaks like in college.
What I've learned: The amount of social contact you miss out was something I hadn't thought of before. After two weeks you probably know almost all the people you're going to work with for a long time. One way I tried to resolve this was start learning how to fly a glider plane. It's a nice glimpse into a random group of interesting people who aren't from work.

Nimo Mohamed
Graduated from: St. Catherine University, May 2023.
Where are you now: Graduate student at St. Catherine University's pre-dental program.
Adulting challenge: I don't see a lot of orthodontists look like me. But it's really challenging to face the world where I have to pay for things out of pocket, because Muslims like us, we don't take loans. I didn't accept the loan offers from school until last semester, when I didn't have a choice.
What I learned: I was born in Kenya and raised in Falcon Heights. After I moved to Minneapolis for college, I found many Somali people struggling with health issues caused by lack of access to healthy food and limited information about nutrition. So, I'm now working on a Phillips Scholars program [offered by the Minnesota Private College Council] to make nutrition plans for the Somali community that take into account African dietary habits.

McKenna Wirth
Graduated from: Carleton College, June 2022.
Where are you now: A Fulbright scholar in Kyrgyzstan as an English teaching assistant.
Adulting challenge: I wish I'd started to do more career-oriented things a little bit earlier in college. It took me a little bit to figure out what path I wanted in life.
What I learned: In terms of general adulting, the best thing I did in college was I spent a summer living in Northfield in a rental apartment with a few roommates. We did our own cooking, cleaning and paying our own bills. It is sort of a trial run of living independently. It helped me get used to budgeting and cooking. When you are not in college anymore, you're off the meal plan. You've got three meals a day to feed yourself. That was kind of intimidating because I was just diagnosed with celiac disease.

Rendahui Wu
Graduated from: University of Minnesota, December 2022.
Where are you now: Graduate student at Teachers College of Columbia University.
Adulting challenge: As an international student, my visa is limited. I'm trying to get a counseling license within the time I'm allotted.
What I learned: I worked as a paraprofessional at a primary school in St. Paul. It was my first full-time job. Seeing a paycheck every Friday gave me a sense of accomplishment because in the past it was mostly my parents who paid for my tuition and living expenses.