15+ People Share the Downsides of Being an Adult So That Teenagers Know What’s in Store for Them

The thing about adulthood is, it doesn’t come knocking. It just hits you, when you are barely prepared for it and then there is no going back. And when that happens, you instantly regret wanting to be an adult as a teenager. While that’s how it works and can’t be helped, adults have started sharing some pieces of advice for the young ones so they at least know what’s coming their way.

Bright Side has handpicked some of the best and most relatable thoughts shared by the real adults of the world.

• “You’ll understand when you’re older” pissed me off so much when I was a kid. Now that I understand it, I’m even more pissed off that I say this. © elee0228 / Reddit

• Furnishing your home, whether it be a house or otherwise, is expensive and will have to be furnished/decorated over time rather than all at once. All those things in your parent’s house (or that you see on TV shows) were acquired over the course of years and it is unrealistic to expect that you’ll be able to put together your full cozy home right away, so don’t stress about it or go into debt over it. © chayseharvard / Reddit

• For me, it’s watching my parents get old. As a teenager, I thought they were all about keeping me restricted and controlled. Now I realize they’re just 2 people who never had a kid before, did the best they knew how, and messed up at times like all other humans on the planet. © Hemenucha / Reddit

“Just finished decorating our annual scary pumpkin.”

• Wanting someone to cuddle or be with or the fear of being alone forever, most teens don’t think of any of this because of dating websites, but when you are an adult it becomes very lonely since you do not know whether you are ever gonna find the right person. © iiKekethedollii / Reddit

• Planning dinner every single night of your life. © MelG146 / Reddit

• You know all those things you thought you would do when you were out on your own? They cost money, and you have to work for it. © AmericanExpat76 / Reddit

“I got a vasectomy today.”

• You’re at a time in your life when you see your friends almost every day at school. That should be cherished, because it’s vastly more simple than maintaining friendships as you enter adulthood and you don’t have that constant contact. Life as an adult is all about changes, most of it is outside of your control. © dartblaze / Reddit

• When something goes wrong or something unexpected happens, there’s no one else to deal with it. Clogged toilet? You gotta clear it. Car outta gas? You gotta fill it. Run out of clean undies? You gotta do laundry. From small things to massive things, there’s no one to make it go away but you. © mswoodie / Reddit

• Your “you time” gets seriously reduced as you get older and your other responsibilities mount up. I used to think that spending half an hour cleaning 3 times a week was the worst thing ever. Now I spend about an hour cleaning pretty much every day. Between work, maintaining a house, and raising kids, the amount of “you” time gets reduced to minutes a day. Anything else you want to do means sacrificing sleep. © MontiBurns / Reddit

“We’re moving and all of our dishes have already been packed.”

• I swear when I was a teenager I could eat absolute garbage and stay slim because I was just naturally active throughout the day. Now being an adult I’m really fat because after a full day at work and other “adulting” responsibilities, it’s so hard to get the motivation to work out. © runfatgirlrun88 / Reddit

• Money loses value QUICKLY as you get older. Give me $1,000 at 15 and I would have been in heaven buying video games and gadgets, candy, and all sorts of stupid nonsense. Give me $1,000 at 36 and it’s going toward paying off the crushing debt that comes with adulthood and car repairs that I’ve put off way too long, and all sorts of totally un-fun things. © GWindborn / Reddit

• The world is cruel and harsh. Human compassion is one of the few mercy’s that can exist in your life. If you aren’t compassionate, then you’re neglecting one of the highest purposes of human existence. Don’t give up on that. © ukiyuh / Reddit

What achievement looks like when you are an adult.

• Your neighbors don’t come knocking on your door to see if you want to come play. Sometimes it’s days before you actually interact with another human. It gets lonely fast. © Samantha_Ann73 / Reddit

• Friends dying. You can have bad years where several people you know die. Some of them your age or younger. I lost 6 people one year, most were older, but one was like a second mother to me. That year broke something inside me. © pinewind108 / Reddit

• Fruits and vegetables rot so much faster when you’re the one buying them. © JazzieXOXO / Reddit

If you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?