ADULTING

When was the first time I felt like an adult? To quote a man I interviewed in Larchmont, “Damn, that’s a tricky question.” 

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I’ve asked this question to at least 100 people over the last year and the answer is rarely the same twice. For many, it’s an important milestone like paying your first bill, buying a house, or having a child. For others, it’s more of a feeling you get when you feel like your ideas are heard at work or in being a role model for younger people. But for me and a lot of my generation, for whom the more traditional markers of adulthood are coming later in life, the question of whether millennials even know how to adult, seems to plague our culture’s consciousness. 

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While I’ve struggled my way through my 20s, I’ve become increasingly aware of a growing disjuncture between the way that our society views young adults today (lazy, narcissistic, entitled) and the young people that I’ve known and encountered. While there are always exceptions, most young people are doing everything they can to grow up and juggle the new responsibilities and roles that come with maturity. What I’ve come to learn is that for my generation, the biggest challenge of adulting is not settling down but confronting the really big questions that come with leaving childhood behind. It’s about asking yourself who am I and what is my place in the world? These are the big questions that Daniel, Eleanor, and Taylor wrestle with in the film. 

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My intent is not to say that adulthood is radically different for millennials than it has been for previous generations nor than it will be for those to come. Rather, my hope is that everyone will be able to see a little piece of their own path to self-discovery in our characters’ stories. 

Growing up is a journey we all share, my generation just gave it a name: Adulting. 

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-Dominique Sheth, Director of ADULTING

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