Skateboarding for hours on end after school, roaming around the mall with friends despite having no money to shop, working your first job at a coffee shop and feeling invincible through it all. Being a teenager was an incredibly special experience, but at the time, many of us were fixated on fantasizing about the future. When I grow up, I’ll be able to stay out as late as I want!
The realities of being an adult often hit us like a ton of bricks, though. Suddenly, bills seem endless, and you realize that groceries don’t magically appear in your fridge. To help prepare teens for “the real world,” Redditors have been sharing some of the most important things young people should understand. So below, you’ll find some hard truths and sage advice that your teenage self may have benefited from hearing, as well as a conversation with Daniel Friedman of Modern Teen.
#22
Get a good mattress, the best for as much as you can afford.
Brush your teeth.
SAVE MONEY
Exercise, eat well. (Don't deny yourself eating c**p) just do it proportionally.
Make your bed every morning.
People are a******s. (You find out the ones that aren't, keep them close)
Don't try and please everyone.
Don't take anything to heart, even from loved ones, you're your own person. Know what to believe and appreciate.
Don't get cheap toilet paper
Don't get cheap washing up liquid
Learn how to change wheels on a car, bike etc.
Learn how to replace car bulbs, basic checks, how to use jump leads.
Learn to sew, to mend clothing.
SAVE MONEY
don't get the 'best' of everything, get what you can afford without getting yourself into debt.
Learn to cook.
Learn to relax
Learn to clean
Look after your body.
Drink water.
SAVE MONEY.
Report
77points
#23
Having a goal and a plan in life doesn't automatically mean it's going to work out, especially if you don't come from money. It's okay to fail. This world is kinda f****d up, and it's not always your fault.
Report
70points
#24
Your job sees you as replaceable. Look out for yourself and your family. Your job is not everything but it will feel like it is, make sure that if you don't like where you are that you change it. Don't be miserable at a job because it pays well
Report
61points
#27
1. You would be amazed at the things each person on this earth has had to overcome. Everyone has a story, everyone here has battled, and everyone is a victim of something or someone. Be proud of your survival and celebrate your birthdays.
2. We are complex creatures. We are not defined by any one action but by the decisions we make day to day. Of course, extreme decisions will sway the tides. Point is, someone can be nice and charming and wonderful and a hero, and also an evil opportunist in the next moment. Never give someone total control of your safety and well being. Rely on you.
3. Your body is a pathetic soft fleshy blob of helplessness especially when you’re driving 80 mph in a glass and steel death trap buffered by protective paint on the road. You can die. Painfully. Many have found this out the hard way. Don’t text, or drink and drive. It only takes a second of stupidity to end it all.
4. The good moments make everything else worth it. That’s why
2. We are complex creatures. We are not defined by any one action but by the decisions we make day to day. Of course, extreme decisions will sway the tides. Point is, someone can be nice and charming and wonderful and a hero, and also an evil opportunist in the next moment. Never give someone total control of your safety and well being. Rely on you.
3. Your body is a pathetic soft fleshy blob of helplessness especially when you’re driving 80 mph in a glass and steel death trap buffered by protective paint on the road. You can die. Painfully. Many have found this out the hard way. Don’t text, or drink and drive. It only takes a second of stupidity to end it all.
4. The good moments make everything else worth it. That’s why
Report
55points
#29
You are responsible for everything you do , and you will be held accountable. Enjoy your youth til 16 , because after that the kid gloves come off
Report
45points
#30
No life plan survives contact with the real world.
We're all basically just winging it.
Report
44points