When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

I would say that from around age four, I’ve always been the grown-up and felt like I was ancient. When I was very young, I felt as though I was a whole lot older than all the other kids around me. Even when I was doing kid things, such as climbing trees and playing on the playground with the other kids, there was always this knowing that I was not like everybody else. My parents got divorced when I was four years old, and from that moment forward, I was placed in kind of this game with the parents as these things typically go when parents get divorced; as unfortunate as it is, the child usually becomes kind of a weapon to hurt the other parent in whatever way shape or form. And this was no different than in my childhood. So, even while all this was taking place, I could see what was going on between my parents and ultimately within the family unit and dynamic that most kids would not be able to see and point out clearly. So whenever my mom was having difficulty dealing with everything, I was the counselor, the mentor, and the guide. Even with some of my teachers, when they were going through things in school, I would give them advice, tell them how they should handle the situation, and coach them through whatever issues they were dealing with. But in my adult life, the first time I felt super grown was when we had this kind of series of unfortunate events take place on a trip to Paris in 2017. I felt myself going into ultimate leader and protector and warrior mode, and I could effortlessly navigate us back to safety with the help of the divine. At that moment, I knew that I could do this thing called life, and I had been doing it the entire time on my own, physically.