Part Time Adult

Part Time Adult – Stories and Advice About Life

Welcome to Part Time Adult! This is a place where young adults can get some tips on how to conquer this thing called life.

What is life?

• Life is hard.
• Life is weird.
• Life is messy.
• Life is confusing.
• Life is expensive.

What is life not?

Life is not taught in school, and that’s why Part Time Adult is here.

I’m Aurelio, the creator of Part Time Adult. Welcome to my neck of the woods.

I’m an adult, kinda.

Can you relate?

I’m really a kid at heart, but I’m an adult when I need to be. I pay taxes, rent, get oil changes on my car, etc. I also don’t have to get my mum to sign a permission slip to go on field trips.

Let’s cut to the chase. I like talking about different aspects of life. I hope it helps someone out there, because life is tricky. My life has had lots of twists and turns, and I would bet that your life has as well.

I’m there with you.

A Little About Me

Growing up I wanted to be a million different things. These include:

• Baseball player – I was ok at baseball. I once hit a kid with a pitch by accident. As I got older that ball kept coming faster and faster. That was all I needed to see. Plus, I didn’t love it. I think my coach still has both of my catcher’s mitts. Why did I own two catcher’s mitts? I played third base. Next.
• Basketball player – Why is everybody running so fast? Wait. He can dunk? He’s 13! Why am I so tired? I’ve been out here for four minutes. Holy crap! I have the ball! What do I do? Pass it to the kid who can dunk! Pass successful! I’m good at passing! Hey, coach. What did you mean when you said that I had to give my jersey to James? Next.
• Football player – (JV football) Hey. I’m actually pretty good. Coach says I have potential. What’s that smell? It’s nice that you get a mini break in between plays. Coach got a little spit on me when he was yelling at me. I hope he’s ok. I like hitting people on the field. University of Miami, here I come! (Varsity football) So. Much. Pain. It hurts when I sit. It hurts when I stand. It hurts when I lay down. Every time I blink I hear a pop in my knee. Is this what dying feels like? Math homework? I’d love some!
• Lawyer – Wow! That’s a lot of books! What language is this? Proximo!
• Doctor – What kind? Maybe a pediatrician. Wait. Do the kids scream in terror like that all the time? Ehh. Quick question. Is there math involved? Oh, ok. Thank you. Next.
• Rapper – This is fun. One in 30 million shot? I get to be surrounded by really questionable people from executives to entourages. I get to wear jeans every day, no health insurance, no guarantee of success or retirement plan, and everyone around me makes more money off me than I do? Let’s do this!
• DJ – It’s like rapping but with fewer words, but there’s a lot of equipment to carry around. DJing is heavy. Why do people keep asking me to play crappy songs? Maybe we’ll try this one later. Maybe one day these records will weigh less.
• Doctor (again) – My mom’s friend was a gynecologist. That’s not a joke. All I know is he had a nice house on the water in Miami and a nice car. He bought his wife a BMW. I want this life. I want to be a gynecologist. … A gynecologist does what? Hold up; is that awesome? Ehh, is there math? … On second thought, ma’am. Next.
• Lawyer (again) – Maybe there is a type of lawyer that doesn’t have to do a lot of reading. … Fingers crossed. Hold up. You have to go to regular college, and then go to law school?
• Fashion designer. …
• Chef. …
• DJ (again). …

And the list goes on

This is normal. It’s called finding yourself. As you grow and hopefully mature you learn more about yourself. Your interests can change over time. That’s allowed.

A lot of folks get down on themselves when this happens. However, this is part of the process for most people. It’s ok. You’re ok.

Now if you’re 80, and you still don’t have a clue, you’re still welcome here, but you might want to speed it up a little.

Life is a buffet, and it’s good to try different things to see what you like. If you don’t like something you don’t have to eat any more of it if you don’t want to.

Here are a few other things about me in a numbered list, because I know people like numbered lists.

1. I’m originally from Miami. I spent 13 years in Los Angeles and am now in Austin, Texas.
2. I have a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Florida A&M University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, if you’re into that sort of thing.
3. I don’t want to rub it in, but I have no student debt (anymore).
4. I’ve spent most of my professional career working in the nonprofit sector with transition-age youth ages 14-26 and their families. I’ve spent time with every type of youth you could imagine: every color, rich, poor, foster youth, homeless, gang impacted, young parents, those with mental health challenges, etc. You name it. A lot of my work centered around teaching life skills and helping people get back on their feet.
5. I’ve also worked at major tech, music and film companies.
6. I grew up on Hip Hop.
7. I’ve been offered seven record deals as a Hip Hop artist, but I turned them all down.
8. I also worked as an entertainment journalist/photojournalist for years and have interviewed a bunch of really interesting and famous people.
9. I cofounded an urban entertainment magazine that doesn’t exist anymore. I wrote and shot under a few different names to make it look like we had a full staff of creative geniuses, but it was mostly me. We did have another amazing photographer and a budding writer who I believe is a TV news producer now.
10. I also like to play with cameras and occasionally contribute to a pretty popular Youtube channel as a part of their camera team.
11. I can cook.
12. I was asked to create a menu for a cooking TV show that never went into production.
13. I grew up in a house with all the pets: big dogs, little dogs, fish, eels, hermit crabs, birds, turtles, rabbits, etc. Pets are cool, but I’m good for now.
14. I once had a small parrot who used to walk around the house. One day as I was watching TV in my bed he bit my big toe. That might be the second-most-worst pain I’ve ever felt after varsity football. RIP, Merlin.
15. I also had another, slightly larger parrot who used to fly around the house. … Until one day it flew full speed into a window. RIP, Oyuki.
16. Se habla Español.
17. I’m a student at heart.
18. I’m a teacher at heart.
19. I’m a storyteller at heart.
20. Janet Jackson’s dog’s name is the same as my nickname. Seriously, she told me. I’ll let you know what it is later as we get to know each other better. I don’t know you like that yet. If you know you know.

You have no idea how much I appreciate the fact that you are here. If you have any questions or suggestions, don’t ever hesitate to reach out. You can also connect on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I’m hoping to put more work into those platforms with time.

You are always welcome here.

Let’s grow up together.

Thanks, again, for stopping by.

Aurelio, Part Time Adult