20 People Who Turned Out to Be Unprepared for Adulthood

When we were at school and trying to grow up as soon as possible, no one warned us that adult life would throw various surprises at us for which you can’t even prepare well. Some of them even make you want to shout, “Why wasn’t I given a manual?” Internet users shared their experiences and told us what unexpected difficulties they faced in adulthood: from absurd domestic situations to social traps.

The article uses images created by artificial intelligence.

• I’m travelling on a bus. A mother and her son, about 3 years old, are sitting next to me. They have the following dialogue:
  — Mom, why do people grow up?
  — Well, that’s how life works. You will grow up, too.
  — But I don’t want to become an adult.
  — Being an adult is fun!
  — Dad doesn’t look like he’s having fun. © LOL.Story | Real Life Funny Stories / VK

• I think I’m degrading compared to my college times. Back then there were many disciplines, constant training for the brain, the goal was to get my degree, sessions kept me energized.
  And now I have work, home, a few hobbies, family, but all this is not the same, it doesn’t develop my intellect. So, I want to get a second degree or go to some courses, but terrible fatigue from 2 jobs and household prevents me from doing it.
  I am lazy, in my free time I just want to lie down and recover. It’s like that for other people, isn’t it? Hello, adult life? © Overheard / Ideer
• My wife and I have to live with my mother-in-law. She won’t give me the keys to the flat, she says I’ll lose them.
  One day I came home for lunch an hour late. My mother-in-law opened the door. I had lunch and left. Suddenly I got a call from my wife, “Mom called, she said you’ve got a nerve.”
  It turns out that the disgruntled mother-in-law was shouting to her into the phone, “Why did he come to lunch so late? Do I have to sit like on a leash and wait for him?”
  Anyway, they ended up fighting, as usual. I’m so sick of this. © Overheard / Ideer
• I wasn’t prepared to how tired I would be after work, even though I’m working fewer hours than I did in college. Also, the amount of work it takes to eat. Figuring out which nutrients I need, deciding a recipe, buying the food, cooking the food, and washing all the dishes. Every. Day. © eabbaby / Reddit

• I like adult life! When I recall the whole school tedium with homework, tests and the fear of being scolded for a “C,” I feel sick. I don’t know about others, but I was always anxious about my studies. It was no better at university.
  No, I wouldn’t trade my mature, routine life for anything. There are no problems here, just tasks to be done. Yes, there are a lot of worries, but I don’t report to anyone, and I’m my own boss! © Overheard / Ideer
• I wasn’t prepared for every single house chore. There are many more than I thought there were. Nobody taught me how to prevent and clean mold from walls, for example. © CoffeeBoom / Reddit
• If you look at my life from the outside, everything is great: I have a degree, my own flat and car, a well-paid and interesting job. You look at all this and you wouldn’t see any problems. But after I graduated from university 2 years ago, I can’t come to terms with this adult life.
  No holidays in summer, no freedom, you sit in the office, you work, everything is good, but you go out, and you have a couple of hours to live in approximately the same location. Basically, the variety of your life is that you pick different places where to eat dinner. Adult life sucks. © Overheard / Ideer

• As an adult, it’s harder to make friends out here. The weird thing is I wasn’t a weird loner type in high school. I actually did stuff with people and hung out with people outside of school. Also, I still have friends and hang out consistently with them, but I ain’t gonna ignore the weird change when it comes to finding real homies. Unfortunately, it got harder. © Unknown author / Reddit
• I’m a little shocked at how quickly one can gain weight working a desk job after your metabolism starts to slow. I’m 24, and spent the first 4 years after turning 18 working manual labor in factories and warehouses. I was getting an average of 18,000 steps a day, 3–4 days a week.
  Now I sit in a chair from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. 5 days a week. Sure, it was great for the first 6–8 months, but now I’m realizing how bad it is for my health. I gained nearly 30 pounds in just 2 years, and kinda miss getting exercise without realizing it. © LimeStream37 / Reddit
• You realize especially clearly that adulthood has arrived when you get together with your girlfriends. We used to discuss men, partying, and discounts on clothes. Now we talk about utilities, family, and discounts on school supplies.
  We tried to do it the old way. We went to karaoke, took photos. But we realized that it wasn’t much fun anymore, and in the morning we were so tired that we could hardly stand on our feet, and the photos were also quite boring. © Mamdarinka / VK

• When I was a kid, adults seemed like magical beings. When you want an ice cream, you just go and buy it. You can stay up all night whenever you want to. It seemed like adulthood was all about freedom and excitement.
  And then “Bam!” — and you’re an adult. But for some reason, instead of ice cream you get utility bills, instead of partying you get a queue at the clinic, and instead of “I can stay awake” you get “If I don’t sleep, I’ll regret it tomorrow.” When was that turning point in my life?!
  Now I look at children who dream of growing up soon, and I want to tell them, “Don’t! As long as your main stress is learning a verse and not forgetting a change of clothes, live and enjoy it!” © Not everyone will understand / VK
• I’ve been through a lot of changes in recent years. Buying a flat, moving, settling down, dealing with various problems. And only recently have I felt really grown up.
  For the first time in my life, I chose and ordered a bathroom curtain that I liked! There were always problems and arguments with this between me, my mom and dad. The curtains were changed every month. © Not everyone will understand / VK
• All my relatives stopped communicating with me because I, an adult 29-year-old woman, was tired of the noise, hustle and bustle and long distances. I moved from the big city to a small town in the south of the country. Here I found a job that I like, I got a dog and every evening I walk along the river.
  But my family doesn’t understand my choice. They think that I’ve missed all the opportunities, and now I will not be able to provide a decent life for myself and them. They no longer want to visit me or socialize with me. So, by abandoning their expectations, by no longer being comfortable for everyone, I have lost my family. © Ward No. 6 / VK

• Growing up, I thought that 30-year-old women were like my mom’s girlfriends — successful, with kids and careers. Well, I’m 30. I work in a supermarket. I rent a room with a friend on the outskirts. I don’t have a boyfriend, let alone a proper family.
  Sometimes I ask my parents for money when I don’t have enough for my own needs. How naive I was in my childhood, when I thought that 30-year-olds are serious men and women who have lived life. At 30, my life is just beginning. © Caramel / VK
• I’m 28. Family, work, serious business and adulthood. There are times when problems roll in and strength runs out.
  When it gets really sad, I make myself a nice cup of tea with biscuits, and afterwards I climb into a chair under a plaid and read Harry Potter. Any book from any place. And I feel so cozy and good, as if I am an 11-year-old girl again, traveling in Hogwarts Express from all the problems to a fictional magical world.
  An evening of such relaxation, and the next morning I am again a mom, a wife, a professional. © Overheard / Ideer

• I dated an ordinary man, he was cozy and stable. He said he loved me, bought me presents. 6 months into the relationship, he suggested we move in together. I’m happy, arranging the furniture in my mind.
  And he was like, “But you wouldn’t mind if my mom lives with us, would you?” I freeze, thinking, “Well, maybe it’s just temporary.” Yeah. He goes on, “She cooks, does the laundry, so it won’t be too much trouble.”
  I ask, “Have you ever lived alone?” He says, “No, what for?” I was afraid to ask about how we would build a personal life, or rather, I was afraid to hear, “She’s an experienced woman, she’ll tell you what’s best.” I said I’d think about it and ran away. © Not everyone will understand / VK
• My sister is a young, beautiful woman. For her birthday, her husband gave her a frying pan. He said that it would be easier for her to please him with tasty dishes. This wise woman didn’t make a fuss, didn’t resent him.
  She just gave him a box of tools for his birthday. Said that it’s a necessary thing in the household, he will now be able to fix the doors in the kitchen, which she had been asking him to fix for 2 months. The man realized his mistake.
  On her next birthday, the sister received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a certificate to her favorite cosmetics shop. Her husband received from her in return 2 vouchers to the resort he had long dreamed of. The hints worked. © Caramel / VK
• Thought being an adult was cool, but how wrong I was. I got sick recently. I spent a day in bed, drank milk with honey, but it didn’t help. I went to the hospital myself, for the first time in my life.
  I had to call my mother 4 times so she could explain what kind of doctor I needed, where to go, with whom to talk, where to take certificates, what to buy, and how to behave. Cool adventures happen in adult independent life... © Not everyone will understand / VK

• My husband has a golden mother-in-law. Every time he and I have any conflicts, she stands by him.
  When I say to her, “Mom, it’s unfair,” she replies, “I’m not sure there’s another superhero in this world who can tolerate your bad temper!” That’s why I never understand: who writes all these jokes about mothers-in-law? © Caramel / VK
• Have you ever thought that in childhood time goes slowly-slowly, and you can’t wait for summer holidays or even the end of the lesson? At college, time speeds up a bit, but you still have time for a lot of things and can enjoy life.
  In adulthood, time flies by. Work, home. You blink a couple of times, and you buy a new number for your child’s birthday cake. I wait for retirement and even greater speed of time with horror.
  One day I will just fall asleep as a middle-aged man, and wake up as a gray-haired old man. Scary. © Not everyone will understand / VK

And here people share their opinions on the downsides of adulthood so that teenagers know what’s in store for them.