Things People Tell You About Growing Up That You Can't Understand Until You're Actually Grown Up

It's all stuff that you've heard before, but you can never truly understand until you're actually experiencing it. It's hard and sometimes sucks, but hey, that's life.

1. It's expensive.

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Sure, working a job in high school can "teach you the value of a dollar", but until you're literally paying for every single thing you use on a daily basis, you can never really appreciate the value of money.

2. You can't use your age as an excuse for ignorance anymore.

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You're an adult, so you're expected to know stuff (even if it's stuff no one knows about).

3. Don't expect a lot of sympathy.

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You're supposed to have your shit together. Or at least that's what society has come to expect. So if you don't, no one's gonna feel sorry for you.

4. Sick? Oh well. The world's not gonna stop turning until you get better anymore.

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When you're a kid, your mom keeps you home from school, makes you soup, and loves on you until you're better. But now, either you suck it up and go to work, or rent doesn't get paid.

5. People (especially kids) are going to start calling you sir/ma'am, Mr./Ms., man/lady, and it's going to remind you that you're old.

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The stuff you did to old people is now happening to you and it's literally the worst.

6. People stop being excited for you.

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As a kid, people would get excited for you for anything: good grades, lost a tooth, did something great at work, etc. Nowadays it's either indifference or fake happiness. Oh, you got a raise? You can probably expect a whole bunch of "Aw yayyyyyy!"'s from people who secretly hate you for it.

7. It's now a societal obligation for you to keep your cool in public.

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When you're young, you can freak out and people will think "oh, kids". If you lose it and you're an adult, you can expect some serious judgment and disgust from onlookers.

8. The next generation is here and there's nothing you can do about it.

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Your generation has been shoved out of the spotlight. Now you're just another face in the crowd, another average person. Another brick in the wall.

9. It's not about "having fun" anymore.

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Despite what motivational speakers and inspirational quotes tell you, life isn't about having fun anymore. It's a competition. There are going to be winners and there are going to be losers.

10. There's no such thing as "fair".

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Never was, never will be.

11. If you're a picky eater, be prepared to suck it up and fake it.

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Believe it or not, ordering the chicken fingers at a business function isn't exactly the best thing you can do for your reputation.

12. Your parents can't fight your battles for you anymore.

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If you have a problem at work, you're the one who needs to talk to the person in charge. If you have a problem with your credit card, your mortgage payment, your tax form, your creepy neighbor who never wears anything but a speedo and old Nike's from the '70s, it's up to you to fix it.

13. People WILL ask why you're single and there WILL be pressure to get married and start a family.

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You see/hear people joking about someone's "babymaker" and how "it's not getting any younger", but it's true. The older you get, the weirder people seem to feel about someone who's single and/or without a family. And they WILL bring it up.

14. The longer you're out of college, the less acceptable it is to not know what you want to do with your life.

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Oh, you're in your 40s and you still don't have a career? How unfortunate...

15. You're going to wake up one morning and realize that you have no idea why you ever wished your childhood and adolescence away. ENJOY IT WHILE YOU'VE GOT IT.

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