Have you ever thought to yourself, "Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier?" As time flies by, many (including myself) are approaching the reality that is "adulthood." College loans, W2s, resumes and bills trail behind those material things we characterize as adulthood. You want a car? Buckle up because you're in for a ride. High school should prepare you for life, not for standardized testing, memorization and regurgitation that inaccurately estimates what you need to know for the future.
It seems that we aren't spending nearly enough time in schools learning about how to actually take care of our lives and finances. Future college graduates need to be prepared ahead of time instead of learning through a crash course in the game of life. Here's what I wish my classes would have taught me:
College loans
What's college without the thousands of dollars in loans that you owe? Without the crushing debt that we will be paying off for the next 10 years or so? If you are staying in school for longer than four years, good luck. You'll be paying for that education until you're old and wrinkly.
A seminar or course in applying, reading and accepting the responsibility of a loan would help us understand the 20-plus pages of fine print. Maybe schools could even provide us with real life contacts we can call upon to consolidate our loans and create a plan to pay them back on our terms so we can afford to have the nice things we all worked so hard for.
Car and all that it comes with
Driving that dream car (any car, really) is not as easy as handing over the money or swiping that plastic card. Maybe high school counselors should play more of a life coach role. Getting to that job interview or becoming a self-sufficient adult won't come so easy.
Don't even get me started on car insurance, AAA and the loan payments that will definitely need a payment plan. More contracts and legal documents to sign and honor. Most of us cannot afford lawyers to read over these documents and assure us by giving us the proper guidance we need. However, the wisdom that teachers have picked up along the way into adulthood could help tremendously.
Taxes and W2s
Good luck getting through those forms on your own. I'm willing to bet that it will take you at least an hour to figure out how to even understand the structure of the form itself. It can be a breeze or (more likely) your worst nightmare. Filling them out correctly is crucial, and let's face it, no one likes to fill out forms. How will we know what to report and how will we know the difference between what classifies as a deductible or how to gain as much money back into our pockets?
Our caregivers aren't going to always be around to take care of the gritty details and grunt work for us as. We cannot rely on our parents forever. It's now or never. So get cracking! Growing up isn't easy, but these three things are essential to moving forward into the rest of our lives as functioning members of society.
