Everyone secretly loves it when their mom or dad offers to help them out with something. Whether it be tossing you a $20 for the movies or them making you dinner so you don’t have to scavenge for yourself, everyone thrives off of the help they get from their caretakers at times. There are certain things that you need to learn for yourself as a growing adult(y) person.
Number 1: Getting Your Own Credit Card
It’s true when you’re a broke college kid, your parents pretty much own your butt. The thousands of dollars on tuition aren’t enough, you need groceries too. What about a phone? They pay for all of these (usually) as well. But something you need to start thinking about now is building some credit. The average credit score for 18-24-year-olds is 630, which is good, but not out of this world. When you want to get your own apartment away from the ‘rents, there is no quicker buzz kill than being denied because you’ve been living on daddy’s credit card too long. By building your own credit, you’re building options for your future.
Number 2: Finding a Job Other Than Babysitting
When you’re 12, usually the only way you can make money for a new pair of jeans is babysitting. The lady down the street with the 3 kids pays you a handful of ones an hour and you take it happily. This cannot still be happening when you’re 22 and making a LinkedIn profile. What are you going to say? “Caregiver of 10 Years”. Sounds real professional; maybe it's time to get a job as a front desk worker at the local library or grab an assistant job from your uncle’s office. Any job that you can get where it looks good on paper is a plus for better employment options.
Number 3: Try Living Alone
You don’t have to actually be alone, but try to grab an apartment with your own room and space. A lot of people are scared to be alone because they either are scared of their own thoughts or think that they need the validation of always having people around. Even if you don’t like being alone, the benefits are scientifically proven: downtime “replenishes the brain's stores of attention and motivation [and] encourages productivity and creativity”.
Number 4: Time Management
This isn’t like high school where you need to finish your homework before going to practice so you can catch the Bachelor with your sister before bed. This is waking up at 8 to get through all your classes and club meetings while trying to fit in grocery shopping before starting that term paper you’ve been putting off all semester. Instead of just trying to manage your time for schoolwork, you need to account for that Saturday night party and how to then survive the next morning's Sunday Leukemia walk. Time management takes on a whole new meaning when you hit the campus walkway.
Overall, there are thousands of important lessons you can learn at college. But some of the best ones are the ones that help you grow up a bit at a time.
