As a child you are scared to do certain things without mom or dad there by your side or without them doing it for you. It’s OK when you’re a kid and you’re scared, but as an adult not so much. Now, you try to con them into doing adult things for you because they are more adult than you—the adult adult. I don’t know what happened or where these fears came from, but I think at some point you are expected to grow out of these irrational fears and just do them.

1. Talking to people on the phone.

It’s not that I can’t talk to strangers on the phone, I just prefer not to. I am not good at it and I don’t know what to say. I get nervous, talk too low, and then I have to repeat myself and the conversation goes on even longer. My roommate and I have learned to take turns ordering pizza on the phone because we’re both just that awkward.

2. Talking to people at the cash register.

I prefer to pay for my things and get out as quickly as possible. Do not try to make small talk with me because I am just the most awkward person on the face of this planet and will not really know what exactly you are trying to say to me half the time. So please cashier, do yourself a favor and do not talk to me.

3. Answering the door.

I still will peep out the window to see who is at the door. If it is a stranger, I still run to tell my mother that someone is at the door so she can go answer it. Thank goodness there is a peep hole in the dorm buildings.

4. Touching and eating things that are hot.

For example, soup. I know full well that the soup is too hot to be eaten or you should let the bowl sit in the microwave to cool down for a minute, but I will just go ahead and carry it anyway. Same thing goes for anything that pops out of the toaster.

5. Answering people’s text messages.

I either respond right away or not at all. Sometimes I just choose not to respond because I am too lazy and I think, "I’ll get back to you later," but I never do. I used to be a very good texter, but that died sometime in high school. The only person that I respond to right away is my mother because I do not know what will happen if I don’t.

6. Ordering food at a restaurant.

Again, talking to strangers. I am not good at this concept.

7. Putting dishes in the dishwasher “correctly.”

Because I can’t put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher the way my mother does, it is incorrect. You are supposed to make the best use of the space you have, and I just don’t.

8. Setting up my voice mail box.

I have had the same phone for four years and have yet to set up my voice mail box. This also stems from the fact that I do not see a reason to set it up because I already get the notification you called. I don’t need a voice mail telling me that you called and asking for me to call you back. I think the missed call is enough for me to call you back without you having to tell me to.

9. Going to appointments by myself.

Doctor’s appointments, hair appointments, and whatever else is out there.

10. Knowing important information.

Going off of the appointment idea, when you go to the doctor’s and you need to fill out paperwork I do not know all this information. I still do not even know my social security number, so how am I supposed to know my parents’? Looking at the paperwork, sometimes I don’t even know what something means.

11. Leaving on time.

For important things like classes and other time sensitive things I can make it on time, but for social gatherings and picking up friends I am never on time. I will tell my friend that I will pick them up at 1 o’clock and I won’t even leave my house until 1:15.

12. Cleaning up my messes.

My dirty dishes will sit in the living room for a few hours until I finally put them in the dishwasher “incorrectly.”

13. Making plans with people.

I will want to do something, but I will just be too lazy to actually find someone to do it with. I like when people tell me, this is what we are doing at this time on this day. I am not good at being the one to do this.

14. Eating actual meals.

Not so much these days now that I am home. However, while away at college, it’ll be 8 o’clock when I realize that I am hungry and I haven’t eaten dinner. It’s already too late to go to the dining hall and I won’t make something in the microwave for whatever reason. So I skip dinner entirely or I eat an apple or something quick that I know will fill me up enough.

So those are the things that I am bad at as an adult. There are probably a whole lot more. What are you bad at as an adult?

*article inspired by Jenna Marbles