There is an Ah-ha Moment!

You wouldn't care what people thought of you if you knew how seldom they think of you. lilmisssuccubus

Thanks Alanis.... 

The Alanis Morissette lyric "You're my best friend / best friend with benefits" from "Head Over Feet." I told my parents that my best friend was my best friend with benefits when I was like 8, and they laughed hysterically and I just assumed it's because they weren't cool and into Alanis' music and didn't understand that it clearly meant "super best friend." And in a way I guess it does mean that.  bripatrick

Ho-Ho... NO.

That my parents couldn't just double the presents this Christmas if I tell them it's okay to not do anything for next Christmas. Maplemore

Alright Johnny, it's time we had a talk about Time Value of Money. ofthedove

Left, Right and Sideways....

The whole "my right vs. your right" thing confused the heck out of me as a preschooler. I knew my own lefts and rights but when my mom was facing me and used to say "my right isn't the same as your right." I learned to just do the opposite of what she looked like. Problem is this led to me thinking that the difference was because of AGE, so kid's lefts and rights were the opposite of adult's lefts and rights. So somehow I got the idea in my head that when you turned 21 your lefts and rights switched (I have no clue why I specifically thought 21, I had this image in my head of blowing out 21 candles and everyone saying congratulations and you get some kind of certificate to officially switch them). Well I'm 21 now and my lefts and rights never switched. tripper74

You made it through the wilderness....

I didn't know what virginity was and my dad would say I would understand when I got older. In the meantime, I thought it would make such a pretty name for a girl. cdngoneguy

Sacrifice.... 

The stress of paying bills and budgeting. My parents tried to keep this hidden from me but I could tell how much they carefully budgeted. They also sacrificed for us kids. I didn't get that until I had a dog first and then children. marya123mary

It's not "actual" fruit you know?

Why my parents wouldn't let me eat 3 fruit roll-ups per day. Lead5alad

I remember being almost 4 and eating an entire box of Blue fruit roll ups. They were Garfield themed. Later that night, we had a babysitter who I didn't know well. I ended up needing to poop, and tried my best at wiping myself (no way I was going to call out for the baby sitter). The paper was blue after my attempt at wiping myself. I didn't know what to do or even how to properly wipe. My toddler solution was to Scotch Tape a wad of TP to my butt. Imagine my parents trying to understand why there's a blue crap wad taped to their 3 year old's butt. RichardBurger

Recess runs out...

Vacations and breaks aren't a given. You don't just get to stop working for a few weeks randomly throughout the year, and no one plans around your vacation - you must plan all of your own (and sometimes other people's) work around your departures. Oh, and vacations are expensive. There's probably a reason that Billy down the block's family is able to take five people to Disney World: because they have money.

I'm a violin teacher now and blew this poor kid's mind this past weekend when he asked me what I was doing for spring break. I sort of stared at him for a second, and then remembered that spring break is a thing that kids get... so I told him that I'm working because I don't get a spring break and he was just completely aghast. Sorry buddy, the adult world isn't as fun as being a kid. artemis_floyd

You can still be Prince... 

• I used to think that living beyond 24 was crazy and impossible
• I used to think you would grow up to be a particular person instead of a larger version of yourself. I genuinely thought I could become Prince.
• I really thought I'd need the karate chop as a part of my adult life. Sprenth 

Let's Wrestle....

When one time I accidentally walked in on my parents, they weren't "just wrestling." adirtymedic

My 5 year old son walked in on me and my SO. Watched us for I have no clue how long before breaking the muffled quiet with "can I play with you guys?" I was so horrified, all I could muster was "NO. Go to bed!"

He started crying and after I got dressed and went to check on him he said he was sad he wasn't allowed to wrestle and play with us. Oh God I'm so embarrassed just remembering it. Manderelli

REDDIT