You know when you realize that life just isn't fair? It can be soul crushing. Sure, you might go through things for a while and still retain some degree of optimism but when that moment finally hits you? Oh, it can hurt.
A lot.
It's a wake-up call that changes your perspective on a lot of things. And it's the adult version of what it must be like for a child who has their world shattered when they learn that Santa Claus is just an invention.
There are other realizations that fall into this category, of course. We heard more about those after Redditor obviousplants asked the online community,
"What’s the adult equivalent to finding out Santa isn’t real?"
"Sometimes..."
"Sometimes there is no justice."
Okbrilliant4216
Ah, yes... the "life isn't fair moment." Sooo great, huh?
"One dumb mistake..."
"One dumb mistake and it could all be over."
Milk_Man21
Even worse, someone else’s dumb mistake and it could all be over.
"You can do everything right..."
"You can do everything right and still fail. The reverse is true as well."
1vertical
I am reminded of the following quote from Jean-Luc Picard: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”
"Learning..."
"Learning that Santa is real and you're him."
SabraSevenTwq
And not in the fun Tim Allen sort of way!
"Being a hard worker..."
"Being a hard worker and good at your job doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be rewarded for it."
Trip100000
You’ll probably just get rewarded with more work, but no more pay. Been there. Learned my lesson.
"Realizing..."
"Realizing you'll probably never have the, "aha," moment that tells you what you want to do with your life and you'd better just pick the least depressing choice."
I_Am_The_Balls
Ouch... why do you have to hit us in the feelings like that?
"That a depressing amount of people..."
"That a depressing amount of people don't grow out of middle school mentalities, even after making it to middle age. Might have grown chronologically, but their actions interpersonally remain stunted and selfish."
Ordernew1
When I realized that some of the people around me were never going to grow up into adults... that was truly something.
"Most of the relationships..."
"Most of the relationships in the teen dramas you loved would actually be toxic as hell in real life."
mcguffers
I wonder how many of the people who loved Twilight when they were younger have figured this out.
"Nobody really knows..."
"Nobody really knows what they're doing. Some are just better at pretending like they do."
anjsum
Everyone has imposter syndrome. All the time.
While I've never been to camp, I have been dropped off with relatives overseas and I can definitely tell you that my mother had a BLAST when I was away.
Hey, hey... some of these aren't CRUSHING realizations, okay? You can handle it. You're an adult now.
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
breast cancer GIF by Baptist Health South Florida 
Teddy Bear Doctor GIF 
feeling neck skin GIF 
praying GIF