Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which 'Adult Problems' They Just Weren't Prepared For

Growing up is inevitable.


As a child, adulthood seems far way. In reality, we grow up in the blink of an eye, and suddenly, we're forced to deal with things we had never imagined or considered before. We get a little bit of an idea of what to expect from watching the adults in our lives... but being faced with actual aging and all its struggles is jarring.

So when Redditor u/bathtub_seizure asked people, "What is an adult problem you were not prepared for?" it was no surprise how quickly the topic blew up, with many adults lamenting about the things they wished they were more prepared for.

20. Remember your first stone?

Giphy

"For me, it was kidney stones. First time in a hospital for something like that, I looked down on my blood pressure cuff and said 'adult' I felt let down by my body."

Chemicalfacist

19. Budgeting...

"Making money and planning your budget in order to put aside some of your salary. Cook healthy food every day."

Vik_Ka4ok

18. What passion?

"'Follow your passion' is ********. The more 'different' types of jobs/experiences you have, the more opportunities begin to notice and actually learn to be good at. Your passion is wrapped in your ambition- just do more and you will naturally gravitate towards things you are good at."

ShikKhat

17. Fashion isn't timeless

Realizing that at some point you have to ditch your college clothes and buy the jorts and new balances if you want to be accepted in a neighborhood.

80_Percent_Done

16. Is anyone doing a good job?

"I always just assumed that most adults were smart and/or good at their jobs, practical skills.

What a monumental disappointment."

eps_vbw

15. They can't feed themselves?

"When you have kids and realize you actually have to cook dinner every single freaking day"

randompixie

14. Learning that it's not all about you

"Having to put my needs/wants/desires to the side because the needs of family outweigh my own. I sometimes think I will never do the things I want to do."

angryscout2

13. The intricacies of laundry

"washing machines. cant figure the things out, despite 3 buttons on them. life long struggle... gave up on them ages ago"

beerkenz

So many liars

"I lived off of Disney movies as a child and was completely unprepared for dating or just how deceitful the majority of the population is."

KaSherr

11. Mattresses are a racket 

"now having my own home, not realising how expensive bed mattress are."

yungsweglaa

"Mattresses..... they're so expensive I never would've thought."

MsPeanutButter-

10. Your best efforts at work don't even matter 

"It's entirely possible to lose your job through no fault of your own."

Chaseybabe

9. The juggling ability of moms

Giphy

"Being able to not cook the same meal everyday while balancing hundreds of other tasks. I will always admire my mom for how she was able to cook, have a clean house, work 43 hours and help her children do homework all while taking time to work out at the end of everyday."

IrisNalvo

8. People aren't here forever

"Losing people. Loved ones passing away is the hardest. Then there's the nasty breakdown of personal relationships, family relationships and friendships. Then there's the sad drifting apart that happens when life takes you on a different path to a person you were once really close to."

BlackCaaaaat

7. Hair, hair, everywhere

Giphy

"Having to institute a 'Complete Body Hair Management Program'.

Ears, eyebrows, nose, chest, balls, @ss....then losing it the only place I want it...my head."

Chaseybabe

6. Can you remember when your body didn't hurt?

"Pain.

Arthritis is ****ing horrible and early onset autoimmune arthritis is worse than just having an ache in one or two joints. I hurt all the time, everywhere, and everyone just assumes you're faking it or you're a pill popper. I don't know if going to live another 20 years with this pain like my dad did."

porcelina99

5. Sleep is for the lucky

"Not being able to sleep due to stress. Yet here I lay, exhausted but wide awake.

When I was younger I could sleep anytime, anywhere."

JonnyWax

4. Friends disappear  

"Going from having tons of friends to really having no one."

eternalrefuge86

3. Your parents suddenly change

"Dealing with your parents acting like children."

rchaw

"I realized my mom (I am an only child) was just a big kid herself 20 years ago. What shocks me is that almost everyone's parents become younger when they don't have kids to raise. This includes myself."

potodds

2. Living is expensive

"How expensive living is. I worked all through high school, but my only 'bill' was the gas I put in my car. 30 hours a week on minimum wage goes a long way on shopping sprees and nail salons when you don't have any other expenses. I developed nasty spending habits, not the 'value of a hard-earned dollar' my parents were hoping for.

I'm not in crippling debt or anything, but sometimes having to spend money on groceries or utilities depresses me more than it rationally should."

isweatglitter17

1. Just the thought of searching is stressful

"The utter soul crushing search for a job"

MaxTheSoccerDog

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Dragged After Making Ridiculous Claim About Randomly Finding Billions On The 'Tariff Shelf'

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed to reporters this week that officials in his administration suddenly found $30 billion they "never knew existed"—located on what Trump referred to as the "tariff shelf."

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.

Keep ReadingShow less
food prep
Katie Smith on Unsplash

Professional Chefs Share The Top Mistakes Average Home Cooks Make

With the expansion of cable television and then streaming services, a number of competition shows featuring amateur home cooks. Shows like Master Chef and The Great British Bake Off garnered huge followings and spawned numerous global and domestic spin-offs.

The food produced by these amateurs is beyond the talents of even some professional chefs. But what about the average home cook? What can they learn from the professionals?

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

RFK Jr.'s HHS Blasted As CDC Panel Considers Dropping Life-Saving Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), met Thursday for the first of two days of discussions about childhood vaccine schedules and recommendations.

The panel focused on the hepatitis B vaccine and plans to vote on Friday whether to continue recommending it be given to all children at birth or to recommend something entirely different. The panel previously tabled making a decision on infant and early childhood hep-B vaccination in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @monicasanluiss's TikTok video
@monicasanluiss/TikTok

Bride's Friends Surprise Her With Montage Video Of All Her Exes At Bachelorette Party—And People Are Mortified

While Jenny Han's novel To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a major hit, and even became a great film success in 2018, not everyone's married to the idea of reconnecting with their exes after the relationships end.

It might be nice to imagine staying friends after the relationships, imagining our exes missing us or regretting losing us, or even giving us an apology for the things they did wrong. But most of us pine for this for a little while, realize it's all a fairy tale, and push past it to better things and new love.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @alexamcnee's TikTok video
@alexamcnee/TikTok

TikToker Sparks Debate After Calling Out Driver's Extremely Bright Headlights For Blinding Her

Whether we are drivers or passengers, we've all experienced that annoying, possibly painful moment of feeling like we're being blinded by a fellow driver whose headlights are far too bright for a standard car on a standard road.

But while most of us complain about it to ourselves and leave it at that, TikToker Alexa McNee stepped up for all of us and called it out.

Keep ReadingShow less