Our society places a high expectation on individuality. We all get to a certain age and we say, "every man for himself!" Angry and tired parents kick their high school-aged children out of the house all the time. We want everyone to be responsible for themselves and to be able to care for themselves from the very beginning of adulthood.
As young adults graduate from high school, they're expected to have a job or go to college. There's really no other option. We place all of this pressure to find a perfect place for yourself after high school on young kids that it makes everything so much scarier. Even during high school, all you hear teachers and guidance counselors say through all four years is that college is so hard, the expectations for you will be so much higher in college, all of this work is preparing you for the amount of work you'll receive there, and so on. They're right in some aspects, and wrong in others. I guess it depends on how you look at it. College is more challenging, yes, but if you divide your time wisely, everything is easily accomplished. In the way that your expectations are higher, they are in some ways and aren't in other ways. In college, you're expected to pass in work that is higher quality, but it's generally OK if you skip a class every once in a while or show up to class in sweatpants. No one cares.
I remember when I was in junior high and high school, my dad had always talked about the importance of college. He really never stopped. It was so important to him that I get a college education and succeed just because he didn't get the college education he deserved. When I graduated, I didn't know what I wanted to do at all. I hadn't the slightest clue. When I decided that I wanted to take time off from school because I didn't know what I wanted to do, I was met with so much resistance. I didn't want to waste my time and money paying for college while I was not accomplishing anything.
When you graduate from college, you're expected to have a career right away. You're expected to live in a nice apartment, have a great job, and have trouble with nothing. You're supposed to truly be on your own.
I just want to say that it's OK to ask for help. It's OK to ask questions when you're talking to a banker about a loan that you know nothing about. It's OK to ask questions about your student loans. It's OK to ask for help with something that you don't know how to do. Maybe even take some time and stay at your parents' house to save money if you are able. It's nice to be able to have a bit of a cushion with your money sometimes. Lastly, it's OK if you don't know what you're doing. Looking at all of the people I know and have known in the past, I doubt very many people actually do know what they're doing.
