I don’t know if you felt this way when you left your parents’ house (if you ever did), but I didn’t think my high school education prepared me at all for college.
I eventually got the hang of it, but that first year was pretty tough…
Now let’s take a look at what AskReddit users said they weren’t prepared for when it came to adulting.
Enjoy!
1. It never ends…
“Chin hairs. They are an obsession.
I tweeze them in a magnifying mirror several times a day. NOBODY told me females would have to deal with this.
I feel like the bearded lady some days!”
2. Which direction do I go?
“Not having a pre-defined goal once I was out of college. Growing up my goals were set for me: get through elementary school! then middle school!
Then high school, and get into college and get a degree, then get a job, and then…? Vague “advance in your career, buy a house, find a spouse, have a kid or multiple, then retire.” At 22 I had no idea how to break that down more granularly.
Until then the biggest choice I’d had to make was my college major – even my choice of school was mostly determined by scholarships and location! And then I had to find and choose a job all by myself! And then decide for myself when to leave it and find another! It was overwhelming.”
3. Life is hard.
“All of it
I was relatively warned about how high rent is, car bills and repairs, how buying healthy food is expensive as hell but important for your health, how to exercise and save what you can, my parents did their best to fill in my knowledge about taxes and healthcare and insurance that my schooling missed, about driving and cleaning a household, about setting boundaries at work.
But working hard and getting ahead if you can, about charity and what it means to take care of a pet and others, about being a good partner if you were lucky enough to have one, about how dark and messed up the world is when you just read the news and what all that means to me and my community… I was reasonably warned about all of it.
No one could have ever prepared me for how hard doing all of it at the same time and keeping your head above that water would actually be.”
4. It’s everywhere!
“How did I never notice that there was dust everywhere? I swear to go I turn around from dusting and there’s more dust. I can’t keep up with our house. We are 2 adults and a dog.
Dining room is in constant disarray because that’s where we let the dog go outside. Amazon packages pile up. why am I so f**king tired? We are 26 and 32.”
5. Not for everyone.
“I’m 43, a woman, not married, and no kids.
I confuse the hell out of new people.
A lot of people don’t know what to talk about if they can’t discuss kids.”
6. Feed me!
“Planning meals.
It’s such a chore to feed yourself every day, planning your meals, budgeting meals, and making sure you like it and don’t get sick of the same meal because it was tasty and easy to make.”
7. The abyss.
“Depression as an adult.
At least as a kid you get healthy amounts of attention and love, and as a teenager you get to have a group of people to spend time and look away.
Being on your own in that abyss really is something I could have never envisioned.”
8. Just another day.
“Birthdays will stop being fun and are gonna be a constant rminder that some day you’ll get very old and then d**…”
9. Where did everyone go?
“Losing/Making friends after you’ve outgrown the bar scene.
Also, the amount of friends you lose after getting married was a shocker, too.
They just stop inviting you out or even over to their houses.”
10. Still acting like kids.
“Being 60 years old and still having to deal with people that act we’re still in high school.
I can’t stand back biting and temper tantrums, and it seems even worse from 50 and 60 year olds.
It’s embarrassing and I thought it would end, but apparently drama never ends.”
11. Smarty pants.
“That no one gives a s**t how smart you are.
As a kid, everyone makes it sound like you’re set for life if you’re smart. No. You’re set for life if you have a good work ethic, know how to stay motivated, and are fairly smart. That’s when you make s**t happen.
Being too smart too early can actually impede you. I didn’t figure this out completely until I was almost 30. And now, at 34, I’m just starting to really hit my stride.
My whole childhood, through highschool and even most of college, I could do no studying and still get As and Bs. And everyone told me how I was going to be so successful and it was so great that I was so smart. But I never had to work hard so I never learned to.
And guess what? Companies looking to hire you DO NOT GAF if you’re smart. They care that you can do the job and do the job well and have the potential to grow.:
12. Nothing is free.
“I was unprepared for how much taxes reduce your retirment. We spend roughly $1000.00/ monthly between taxes and insurance, just to own stuff we already paid for.
You will NEVER live anywhere free. Our system is designed against it…”
13. Every day on repeat.
“That once you are “stable” your life is groundhog day
. Every day is basically the same. Same person I already married, same house I already have and already decorated, same job every day, same foods over and over. Same d**n shows and movies and songs…
Boring and sometimes I have a crazy spell because I just can’t stand it… dysphoria sucks.”
14. It was all a lie.
“That the dream we were told to believe is a lie.
I was promised “graduate, get a job, get money, get love, be happy, retire, d**”.
First step was easy, second step was a little bumpy, third step was really bumpy, I found out in step one that step four was optional and I’m completely lost on step 4, 5, 6 and might skip to step seven.”
What adult problems were you not prepared for?
Talk to us in the comments and let us know.
Thanks a lot!
