For the first six and a half minutes of adulthood, everything is awesome. You can go to bed when you want, you can eat pizza for breakfast if you want and you can just about do what you want. But then the walls come tumbling down and you find yourself getting slapped in the face by a fair few harsh realities. Mmm hmmm. Life isn’t all sunshine, lollipops, rainbows and cuddly bunny rabbits. In fact, it’s like the complete opposite, which is why you may find yourself resisting the adult world as soon as you can and reciting things to yourself every morning, like “don’t grow up, it’s a trap.”
To help prepare you a little bit more or, if it’s too late, help you prepare your kids a little bit, we’ve pulled together a list of harsh realities you need to get comfortable with real quick:
- The World Doesn’t Think You’re Special
When we grow up, we’re all engrossed in books about fairy tales and films with a sunset ending, and this makes us feel like life will treat us in a similar fashion. But it won’t. And just because you are numero uno in your life doesn’t mean you are numero uno in the eyes of the universe. This doesn’t mean amazing things won’t happen to you – they will, you just have to go and find them instead of hoping they will land in your lap.
- You Have To Care About Others
Two of the most amazing life skills you can ever hope to be blessed with are sympathy and empathy, and these are followed closely by compassion and patience. If more people had these in their arsenal then the world would be a much happier place and that’s because these are at the foundation of selflessness. Of course, you don’t have to do this. These aren’t laws. But, take it from an adult, the world becomes a much kinder place when you are kinder. Donating to charity, being there for your friends, giving as much as you take, volunteering your time – all of this will make the ride a whole lot smoother.
- Laws Need To Be Followed
When you’re in school, you have to adhere tons of guidelines and whatnot, and if you don’t then you get in trouble. However, these are still just guidelines and the punishments are kind of bearable. In the real world, though, wowzers, you really don’t want to know what happens after you’re arrested, at least not firsthand. It’s proper. It’s real. It’s a black mark on your record that may not go away for a very long time and, trust us, the older you will find it really hard to forgive the younger you for messing around when it comes to the law.
- No One Has A Clue
When you become an adult, you will get this constant feeling that you have no idea what you are doing. You won’t have a clue how to get a good deal on your car insurance, you won’t have a clue what’s gone wrong with your car when it breaks down, you won’t have a clue how to be amazing at your job or anything. In fact, you will come across the term “fake it until you make it” and then realise this is pretty much just how adulthood works, for everyone, all the time.
