I love my parents and this is in no way disowning or disrespecting them, but they did not prepare me for adult life. Upon entering my freshman year of college, I was surprised to find out that I didn't know how to perform everyday tasks that would be considered an important part of growing up. To give you a better idea as to how I struggled in the first semester of college, I will include a list of tasks that seemed to be foreign to me and that I simply had to figure out on my own if I wanted to progress in life as an individual.
Where do I put the laundry detergent?
I wasn't required to do laundry at home, so when I came to college I had no idea where I was supposed to put the laundry detergent in the actual washer, which setting I should choose and how much laundry detergent I should put in. I had to call my mom up and ask her if this shirt would be considered a delicate or a colored item.
How do I deal with my finances?
I knew how to handle my money to the point of not spending every dollar excessively and throwing money at bartenders like I had it to spare, but I didn't know about banking. How do I set up an account? How do I check my balance and how do I transfer money if I need to? Should I get a debit and a credit card or just one? What do I save and what do I spend? Going through Fall semester of my freshman year with no meal plan made it a lot more tempting to go out to Chipotle every other day and before I knew it, my money was dwindling. There were multiple times when I lost my debit card and had to call my mom frantically and ask her what I should do and how do I survive on $20 for a week.
What if there's something wrong with my car?
I still don't know much about cars, but I've been in a few situations where I've had to go to the dealership to get a few issues fixed, and it was an experience that I was in no way prepared for. There are actual light bulbs in my headlights and my blinker can automatically go out? Why are my breaks squeaking and should I go get them checked out? Let's just say ever since I've come to college I've had a dead battery, an ignition problem, a tire problem and a headlights problem and calling my parents to ask them for advice helped, but actually getting out and fixing the solution on my own was the only thing that was going to realistically help me.
I actually have to go talk to my professor about my grade?
Back in high school when there were 20 other kids in your class and you most likely made As and Bs, it wasn't a big deal to speak with your teacher and sometimes you could slide by without even having to do so, but in college that won't cut it. In a class of 200 where you are struggling and can't figure out that XYZ times ZYX equals XZ, it's about time you visited that professor and talked to them about the areas you need help in, even if it is scary and intimidating. It gets easier, trust me.
These are all situations that are tough and that may seem foreign, especially if you were never taught how to deal with them or your parents over-estimated your abilities and assumed that you were completely capable, but they all have one thing in common: they are things that you will have to deal with for a very long time and that you will learn how to do through life experience. I am thankful that I've been put in situations where I've had to figure out what to do and how to do it because I wouldn't be as smart or as experienced as I am now if it weren't for these instances. Lastly, I want to thank my parents, because maybe they didn't teach me how to do laundry properly, but they taught me how to succeed in everything I do. Even if I just had to figure it out along the way.
