The song goes: “Breaking up is hard to do,” but it might as well be “Growing up is hard to do.” When we were kids, we dreamed of growing up. Being an adult seemed like the coolest thing in the world. You didn’t have to answer to anybody and you could do whatever you wanted — or so we thought.
But at the price of not having a bedtime comes a host of other challenges. Sure, we can have cake for dinner and stay up all night. But we also have responsibilities, which are sometimes difficult and frightening. We have to pay bills, often while wondering if we’ll have enough money to do so. We have to go to work whether we want to or not…because we have to pay bills.
The hardest thing about all these responsibilities? We still feel like kids. Maybe we once thought that one day, we’d feel mature and confident. We’d know all the answers and how to act regardless of the situation. But the truth is, even as adults, we’re confused and unsure. We might be in our 20s, 30s, or even older, but we still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up.
1. Wait, I’m supposed to be doing this?
Well, now I feel awkward. No one ever told me I was supposed to wash my curtains. Now I’m afraid to look. They’re probably filthy.
2. Seriously, so much paperwork
The sheer amount of forms you’ll fill out in your adult life is overwhelming. Rental applications, job applications, utilities, and bills. The list is endless; half the time you don’t even know what you’re signing.
3. Don’t rat them out like that
The next time you see an elderly person, remind yourself of this: in their minds, they’re still 20. They wake up every morning, surprised to find their bodies are old.
4. It’s insane
Believe it or not, there’s actually a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. The short version —as you get older, any amount of time is a smaller percentage of your whole life than ever before. That’s why time seems to speed up as you age.
5. It’s going to come up sooner or later
Everyone had traumatic experiences during childhood. Take it from me, that trauma won’t go away if you ignore it…no matter how much time goes by. And it’ll affect more than you think.
6. You’re not always working your dream job
Most people will have dozens of different jobs in the course of their adult life. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean the one you have will be good or pleasant. Hopefully, it’s just a temporary phase for most of us.
7. Yuck
If you spent your teen years eating whatever you wanted with no consequences, you may be about to learn a tough life lesson. As you grow older and your metabolism slows, you’ll have to start making healthier choices.
8. Comparing is rough
One of the hardest parts of adult life is seeing other people struggle. Sometimes, you’ll feel as though you’re having a hard time. But often, you’re doing much better than your friends.
9. It’s the sad truth for many people
Careers can be tricky. Sometimes, you find yourself in a place you don’t want to be. Once you’re there, it can be difficult — and scary — to get out.
10. Life gets super busy
People reach a certain age when they start having kids. While that’s a wonderful part of life, it doesn’t happen at the same time for everyone. As a result, friendships can be strained.
11. Just a little bit longer
Once you’re an adult, it seems like you never get enough sleep. Unlike when you’re a kid, no one’s there to make sure you go to bed at the right time. Man, you never appreciated that back then.
12. You’re just realizing this now
When you were a kid, you probably thought your parents knew everything. But the truth is they were just as confused and uncertain as you are.
13. This is so hard
There’s nothing like realizing your parents can no longer take care of themselves, whether due to age or illness. They were always the ones who took care of you. Now the roles are reversed.
14. Having adult friends is HARD
When you’re a kid, hanging out with your friends is easy. All you need is your parents’ permission. But as an adult, there’s so much you have to coordinate to make friendships possible.
15. Don’t ignore them
Mental health issues often become more complicated in adulthood. It’s important to be aware of them so you can decide whether you should consider therapy or medication.
16. It happens to everybody
Life gets more hectic as you get older, making it hard to coordinate schedules. You have so many more responsibilities that get in the way, like family life, work, and appointments. It’s hard.
17. I guess I’ll just sit on the floor
Seriously, when people talk about how cheap the furniture from IKEA is, they mean comparatively. It’s still expensive. All furniture is expensive. Why is it so expensive?
18. You have to work at it
Every relationship has challenges — even healthy ones. If you want to continue having a happy relationship, you need to work at it…both as a team and as individuals.
19. Basic life skills
The American education system skipped over a lot of stuff that could’ve helped us in the real world. Now that we’re adults, we feel confused. Wasn’t someone supposed to prepare us for this?
20. All I do is work, work, work, work, work
This is a uniquely American problem. Two weeks of vacation is barely enough to keep any of us sane. Most European countries offer five or six weeks.
21. Seriously, every night
Even if you’re just cooking for yourself, dinner can be a challenge. Making meals takes a long time. And what’s with always trying to think of new recipes?
22. Just sniffing a doughnut makes you gain weight
Kids don’t know how good they have it, eating whatever they want whenever they want. Once you get older, you have to consciously make healthy eating decisions or pay the price.
23. It’s a sad reality
This tweet covers two problems: trying to coordinate parenting with work and dealing with workplace sexism. Both of these are still problems, even in this day and age.
24. I’m still confused about this
People talk about health insurance like we’re all supposed to know what they mean. Is there a booklet or a YouTube video that would bring us all up to speed? I just want to know if I can go to the dentist.
25. Adulthood can be lonely
When you’re a kid, you talk about what you want to be when you grow up. But when you’re an adult, you often still don’t know — and the question isn’t “what,” but “who.”
26. Yes, and it’s so frustrating
The sneaky truth of being successful is that it’s not all about hard work. Often, the people who achieve success have done so because they have the right connections.
27. It’s the little things
When you’re a kid, your whole life is determined by a schedule: going to school, going to activities, going to bed, etc. When you’re an adult, you have to make schedules for yourself.
28. It’s something we all have to come to terms with
It can be so painful to take care of elderly parents after so many years of being cared for by them. No one ever feels ready to lose their mom or dad.
29. It can be one of the hardest things
This seems like something small — but in reality, it’s a major part of life. As you’ve probably seen from friends or acquaintances, not everyone gets the hang of it, even in adulthood.
30. We’re all confused
Look around you. Every adult you see — your parents, mentors, teachers, even individuals in senior positions of authority — are still trying to figure everything out as they go. We’re all just pretending to be confident.
31. It’s a scary thing to do
It’s tough to realize you’re in a toxic relationship and even tougher to end it. This doesn’t just apply to romantic relationships but also friendships and family.
32. Pretty specific, but you’d be surprised
Not all of us have to deal with raccoons coming into the house, but you’d be surprised by how often animals try to get inside. And if you’re an adult, you’re the one who has to deal with it.
33. It’s so confusing
The moment you become an adult, the word “credit” pops up. Then you find out you already have it and it’s bad. It never gets much clearer than that.
34. You have to think about it eventually
No one ever taught us about investing for retirement. But in their defense, the millennial generation will probably be working until the day they die. You don’t need a retirement plan if you can’t retire.
35. It’s always scary
When you were a kid, you thought adults were confident individuals who knew exactly what they were doing. The truth… everyone’s confused and uncertain. They just have bigger bodies.
36. It’s the worst way to do paychecks
Who came up with the idea of paying employees twice a month? There’s nothing worse than having no money for the last few days before payday.
37. We’re always tired
As a kid, adults were always trying to make you take naps, and you hated it. You had boundless energy. But now that you’re an adult, you can’t express how much you need a nap all the time.
38. That’s…a lot
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of responsibilities you have as an adult. Trying to keep track of all of them, especially those that involve money, is a challenge.
39. They sound great in theory
One day, I dream of having enough money to schedule all my bills for automatic payments and never have to wonder whether they’ll drain my bank account. Or even worse, be declined for insufficient funds.
40. So simple and yet so difficult
As children, so many of us were conditioned to always be pleasant and accommodating. Now, as adults, we have a hard time saying no when we’re stretched too thin.
41. And even older
Remember when you were a kid and you thought 25 was amazingly mature? Then when you turned 25, you realized that not only did you still feel like a kid, but everyone else thought you were a kid, too.
42. Okay, fair
Men are difficult, women are difficult, relationships are difficult. Basically, any interaction with other adult humans will have you pulling your hair out in frustration.
43. There’s always something new
That’s the way it always goes: you feel like you’re finally caught u, and then something surprises you. Why did no one ever tell you about all these random items?
44. Seriously, ridiculous
The price we pay for an acceptable amount of privacy is just absurd. Curtains are expensive but so are blinds. How long can we get away with tacking a towel over the window?
45. When’s that going to happen?
You turn 18 and think everyone will finally see you as an adult. When that doesn’t happen, you think it’ll start when you’re 21. Or maybe in your mid-20s. Or once you turn 30…
46. Dating is harder than you expect
Some parents prepare their kids for the practical aspects of life better than the personal ones. It’s hard to talk to boys when you’ve never had any example. Maybe you could discuss how good your credit is.
47. It depends on your priorities
This isn’t universal, but it can happen easier than you might think. It’s hard to balance your personal and professional lives, which can both get complicated without warning.
48. Roommates aren’t all bad
If you grew up in a big family, moving out to live by yourself can be a difficult adjustment. It’s okay to live with a roommate just because you prefer the company. Not everyone likes living alone.
49. Some people never grow up
If you’ve ever worked into an office, you’ve probably seen some immature people. It might remind you of high school, except that everyone’s in their 30s. Older doesn’t automatically mean more mature.
50. No one could prepare for that
There’s no doubt the last few years have thrown the United States into* cultural and political turmoil. We were just going along like everything was fine. Then 2016 came.
51. Seriously, it’s stupid
When you’re in college, you can do the old shower steam trick to get the wrinkles out of a shirt. But now that you’re an adult, you have to do adult things like use an iron. So stupid.
52. Green smoothies are the worst part
All of the things listed here are stressful. But that last one really stands out. Seriously, the person who first put kale in a smoothie should go to jail.
53. No one ever is
Maybe you were lucky enough that your parents or teachers taught you about taxes. But no matter how well you understand them, you’ll still never be ready for them.
54. Pressure from everywhere
Everybody seems to have an opinion on what you should do with your life. Ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide that. Just ignore those magazine articles and your nosy Aunt Brenda.
55. Or trying to, at least
The student loan crisis is out of control, and it’s threatening to collapse at any moment. We just can’t pay the loans back when the interest grows by the day.
56. You can’t provide sole support
It’s painful to watch people you care about struggle with addiction. But ultimately, all you can do is encourage them to make the right choices. They have to be the ones to decide to get help.
57. It’s a hard lesson to learn
Taxes wouldn’t be such a bad thing if they were used for the right reasons. I don’t want my money going to the military, but can I have some healthcare, please?
58. Credit cards are a bad idea
When you become an adult, everyone tells you to establish credit. The way to do that is to get a credit card. And then you realize how much credit cards can screw you over.
59. Just throw the whole thing out
There are so many things in your house to clean. Remember when you were a kid and your parents were always cleaning? The dirt just sneaks up on you. It’s not fair.
60. You’d be surprised how hard it is
Not everyone’s good at graciously accepting a compliment, but it’s important to know your worth. And even if you don’t agree, just say “Thank you” and let it go.
61. Tax is a dirty word
Tax refunds feel nice, but they don’t always happen. Just try running the numbers through TurboTax one more time. Maybe something will change.
62. It’s painful
Working can be so difficult when you’re a naturally shy or introverted person. In the corporate world, you’re encouraged to be outgoing and have a “go get ‘em” type attitude, which can be exhausting.
63. Which app do I use for this?
There are tons of budgeting apps out there, but unfortunately, there aren’t any for navigating office politics. Does anyone want to invent one and make our lives easier?
64. Learn to listen
Sometimes, it seems as though everyone’s just waiting for their opportunity to talk about themselves. We all need to learn to listen — really listen, not just wait for our turn to talk.
65. That’s a lot
All of these things are unique problems that we could spend hours talking about. But one thing’s certain: you’re not the only one who feels lost and confused.
66. Fitted sheets are a nightmare
Everything listed in this tweet is terrible, but we can all relate to the nightmare that fitted sheets present. They’re impossible to fold. So why do we keep trying?
67. Why is it so hard?
Making friends when you’re a kid is pretty easy. But when you become an adult, you realize you’re outgrowing your old friends and you have to start from scratch.
68. Why didn’t anyone teach us this?
We all sat through years of high school math classes and barely learned anything about the realities of money. Why were they teaching us how to calculate the area of triangles?
69. What happened to summer break?
You get to be an adult and still think of summertime as “vacation.” And you’ll still be thinking of it like that as you go to work throughout June, July, August, September…
70. I’ve owned like, four toasters
You probably never imagined yourself buying random household objects. But now you’re an adult and you have light bulbs and a bathroom faucet on your shopping list.
71. That one was unexpected
Every generation has unique problems in adulthood, but this one was tough. Didn’t we get rid of the Nazis about 75 years ago?
72. They do more work than you realize
You don’t appreciate how healthy you are when you’re a kid. All your joints work, your back doesn’t hurt, and you never have an issue sleeping. But all bets are off once you’re a grownup.
73. Some people never learn this
Minding your business is an important life skill, but not everyone learns it before they’re an adult. Actually, some people never learn it no matter how old they get.
74. Isn’t that the truth?
When you’re a kid, people often say your anxiety will get better as you get older. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is often the truth. Lots of us still have anxiety issues.
75. They don’t have it figured out, either
When your parents don’t manage their own problems well, they can pass them down to their children. This can be debt, hoarding problems, mental issues, and more.
75 adult problems the world never prepared you for
Cedric Jackson
02.12.20
The song goes: “Breaking up is hard to do,” but it might as well be “Growing up is hard to do.” When we were kids, we dreamed of growing up. Being an adult seemed like the coolest thing in the world. You didn’t have to answer to anybody and you could do whatever you wanted — or so we thought.
But at the price of not having a bedtime comes a host of other challenges. Sure, we can have cake for dinner and stay up all night. But we also have responsibilities, which are sometimes difficult and frightening. We have to pay bills, often while wondering if we’ll have enough money to do so. We have to go to work whether we want to or not…because we have to pay bills.
The hardest thing about all these responsibilities? We still feel like kids. Maybe we once thought that one day, we’d feel mature and confident. We’d know all the answers and how to act regardless of the situation. But the truth is, even as adults, we’re confused and unsure. We might be in our 20s, 30s, or even older, but we still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up.