Roughly seven in ten Americans think young adults today have a harder time than their parents did when it comes to things like saving for the future (72%), paying for college (71%), and buying a home (70%), according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
To get a better understanding of the possible struggles, Reddit user Raeraegoawayy asked everyone on the platform to share the “sad realities” of being a grown-up that they believe people entering adulthood should be aware of.
From comments about the daily grind to confessions about their relationships, continue scrolling to check out the replies, and don’t miss the conversation we had with mental health thought leader and behavioral economics expert, Joyce Marter — you’ll find it in between the entries.
#1
You can do everything right and it can still go wrong.
Image source: crazyditzydiva, Shiona Das / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#2
The stupid s**t you do to your body adds up. Headphones at max volume? Enjoy your tinnitus. Being a goofball and head banging as hard as you can to Metallica in the 90s? Wake-up with neck pain. Showing off how much you can lift or carry and not lifting with your knees? Have fun with the back spasms after you move too quickly the wrong way.
Take it easy on your body.
Image source: debaser64, Wellington Cunha / pexels (not the actual photo)
#3
Being an adult is living with regrets.
It’s not only ok to look back and wish you did things different, it’s proof of growth.
Image source: bugcatcher_billy, Muhmed Alaa El-Bank / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#4
The advice of “Follow your passion” in careers only goes so far. If your passion happens to align with a lucrative career track, then you’re golden. But if it requires a TON of work to get your passions to make money, then keep them as a hobby. Get a job that you can tolerate to pay the bills, and do what you love for free because you love doing it. I wouldn’t say that data entry is my passion, but it gives me plenty of free time to rescue animals, garden and travel.
Image source: ca77ywumpus, Daian Gan / pexels (not the actual photo)
#5
In my experience, the older you get the less people care. Until finally nobody cares. If you don’t put in the effort to reach out to people, nobody else will.
Image source: 2Scarhand, Tavarruk / pexels (not the actual photo)
#6
That in the end, you need to be your own best friend and cheer squad. Only you can lift yourself up out of life’s inevitable potholes.
Image source: Twilight_Waters, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#7
That once you live on your own, It cost money every second of your life. Even if you stay in and hide in your bed, The bills are rolling like the counter on a gas station pump.
Image source: its0matt, Alexander Grey / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#8
One sad reality is that life often doesn’t go as planned. Flexibility and resilience become essential skills for navigating adulthood.
Image source: Cold-Tomatillo-414, Sofia Alejandra / pexels (not the actual photo)
#9
You have all the freedom to stay up as late as you want and eat candy for dinner. But you’ll feel horrible if you do..
Also, dishes. So many f*****g dishes all the time.
Image source: Suitable-Pie4896, Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo)
#10
Not everything is black and white , most things are shades of grey.
Image source: alladinsane65, Kaique Rocha / pexels (not the actual photo)
#11
Life is more about how you react to things and less about what happens to you.
Good and bad things will happen in life. What matters is how you react to it.
Image source: Oldrrider, TMS Sam / pexels (not the actual photo)
#12
Everyone is very f*****g dumb.
Image source: Other-Stomach1252, R. du Plessis / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#13
While you’re growing up, your parents are growing older.
Image source: kyr038, Feedyourvision / pexels (not the actual photo)
#14
Adulting is mostly just being tired and doing laundry.
Image source: kinkyxQueeny, Dan Gold / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#15
Time hits the FFW button after high school… it feels like January was last month sometimes. Next thing you know is been 10 years.
Image source: eggz627, Mike / pexels (not the actual photo)
#16
You can prepare yourself as much as you want, life will always throw you a curve ball. Especially as an adult.
Image source: Kusanagi60, Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#17
Life isn’t fair.
You can work harder, be better qualified, but still get passed over for promotion. You can be the perfect partner, but they can choose to drop you anytime.
Image source: laurenposts, Yan Krukau / pexels (not the actual photo)
#18
You’re not guaranteed anything. Not love, not happiness. I think most people grow up taking for granted that these things WILL happen. Reality is a lot more complex. If you’re lucky what most of us do get looks something more like a comfortable compromise. And a lot of us end up going through life with less.
Image source: SomethingWickedTWC, Adrian Swancar / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#19
The number of possible life paths you have decreases as you get older. Sometimes it actually is too late to start.
Image source: Hopeless-polyglot, Ivan Samkov / pexels (not the actual photo)
#20
People at work can be just as, if not more childish than those at school. Some folk just wait for the opportunity to stab you in the back or belittle you publicly.
Image source: Slopsie, Yan Krukau / pexels (not the actual photo)
#21
First, it goes by way faster than you think it will.
Old age doesn’t come on gradually. One day you’ll just be like, “Dude, I’m old. How the eff did that happen?”
Second, young people are awesome.
Forget all the stereotypes about self-centered, heartless, entitled youth. Young people have an innate ability to say to themselves, “Well, that didn’t work out. Oh well, let’s do something else.”
For young people, screwing up and trying something else, or doing something and realizing it isn’t for them, is a part of being young. At some point, we lose that when we get older.
Older people tend to wallow in their mistakes and feel like it’s too late to change. They feel trapped in their decisions and obligations.
Working with college students in my 50s, young people have taught me three very important lessons:
1. It’s OK to need help.
That’s what friends do. My experience has been that young people can be the most loyal and true friends of all.
2. Quit taking life so damn seriously.
There’s something funny about pretty much everything, so pull back, take a deep breath, and laugh.
3. It’s OK to change and do something else.
You make a mistake? You’re not dead! Do something else.
So my advice to young people is: respect youth, learn from them, and they’ll respect you back and teach you plenty.
And never lose the qualities I named above.
Image source: Philoporphyros, Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo)
#22
50 years I’m on this planet and I’m sitting here pondering what I can tell you that is a sad reality of being an adult. Nothing really springs to mind other than the daily grind of going to work. Do better in school and you can increase your prospects of having a job that you actually enjoy.
Image source: Marybone, Anna Tarazevich / pexels (not the actual photo)
#23
You have to stop eating processed foods.
Image source: anon, Tim Samuel / pexels (not the actual photo)
#24
How lonely it feels. I’m 20, so i’m still in the transitioning period of becoming an adult, and sometimes it’s so lonely because this is where everyone’s life starts to go at different paces & in different directions. You start growing as a person & sometimes that means growing apart from friends you thought you’d be with forever.
Image source: leapbaby00, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#25
Your career can be ruined by other people through little fault of your own.
Image source: tomqvaxy, Oladimeji Ajegbile / pexels (not the actual photo)
#26
You can do pretty much anything you want, which is great, but you have to deal with the consequences, which isn’t great.
You can stay in bed all day and not work, but you will probably be broke. You can have a big party with your friends, but you have to pay for all the stuff and you have to clean up afterwards.
Basically, you have huge possibilities and opportunities, but it is all down to you.
Image source: BobBobBobBobBobDave, cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#27
People will dislike you and sabotage you for reasons that have nothing to do with you. Oftentimes you have only three choices – tolerate it, leave, or go to war.
Leaving is usually the best option.
Image source: Stargazer5781, Min An / pexels (not the actual photo)
#28
None of us have a clue what we’re doing or what’s going to happen or what we should actually do.
Image source: TheAmazingSealo, Andrew Neel / pexels (not the actual photo)
#29
Nothing happens unless you make it happen! A blessing and a curse.
Image source: bbybbuny078, Ba Tik / pexels (not the actual photo)
#30
Remember when you were a kid and summer loomed large on the horizon? It took a while to get there but once you did, it was three months of glorious freedom, adventure, and comfortable boredom. When you’re an adult. You don’t get that anymore. You can look forward to your one or two five day vacations a year, or even just a measly three-day weekend, knowing that you’re going to pay the price when you get back to your job and have to catch up on everything that you missed. It’s an endless, plodding existence in cubicle-land. But maybe your office will have a decent vending machine or something.
Image source: timhamilton47, Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo)
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