At the age of 19, teenagers are sent out on their own to start carving their own path. Excited and unprepared, they are kicked out of the nest to try and take their first self-sufficient steps. Whether you are going to college or going out into the working world, no one can really prepare you for what is about to happen. No one tells you that you will be tied to your parents financially for many years to come.
At 19, you will most likely have little, if any, credit. Credit is a huge factor in getting an apartment, a car, student loans, and even certain types of accounts. But here is the kicker, it is nearly impossible to get credit without credit, so back to mom and dad to beg for a co-signer.
So lets think about this with the most rosy light possible, you get mom and dad to co-sign so you can get an apartment, a credit card to help build your own credit, and a car to get you to and from the new job you need to pay all of the rent, and payments you have now saddled upon yourself.
You think you're on your own, you're paying rent, going to work, attending classes, and successfully making payments when BAM--your hours are cut at work, something is broken in your car, and finals are fast approaching. You suddenly have a $300 payment to make to the mechanic, $25 dollars to pay to a tutor, $400 rent payment is due in a week, and your fridge is empty (not including the "science experiment" that was lost in the back of the fridge for 3 weeks).
You must prioritize expenses, you were never taught in school how to do that, though. Trying your best with what you have, you pay rent, the tutor, and get enough ramen to feed you for 2 weeks; but now you have no car to get to school, or work to make more money to pay expenses... you are stuck and you need your parents to help you scrape by, and here you were thinking you had all your ducks in a row.
You dream of the easy road of high school. Ahh, to go back to high school where the most pressing issues were getting a date to prom, and studying for a test that is only worth 100 points. A time where mom made dinner every night, and dad always paid the electricity bill. A time when you could sleep in on the weekends, and you actually had time off from school. Waking up you realize you fell asleep on your computer typing a huge essay that is due in 2 hours, you knocked the bowl of ramen on the floor, and you need to get to work in 30 minutes...
This is the dark side they never tell you about. The side many teens trying to get out from under their parents can't see. The cold hard reality. The times you can look back on in a few years thinking, "How the hell did I survive?" While you may have gained 15 pounds from consuming nothing but ramen and Red Bull, and you may have gone a little crazy from being sleep deprived--you are alive, and you did it. Taking it one day at a time, one late bill at a time, and one gourmet ramen noodle sandwich at a time.
