Adulting Is Hard, I Wish I Was Taught About It In School

As a grown-up, we come across the term adulting frequently. But what exactly is adulting? The act involves taking on the obligations, manners, and tasks often associated with living as a normal adult. In order to be an adult, one must be independent and capable of doing everything on one's own. While schools and institutions were established to help us grow into capable adults, they hardly ready us for the real world.

The Indian educational system is focused on rote learning; success at school is determined by how well you can memorise and recall answers and fill them out on an empty sheet. The curriculum that was used to educate our parents is still being used for us. But since we are all aware of how much everything has changed, it is time for the curriculum and learning methods to catch up. 

Adulting struggles

Let's talk about the tasks we are supposed to do as adults. Taxes, managing finance, and opening up bank accounts. All of these are necessary and quite intimidating. If we have a head start and understand the basics, we wouldn’t have any doubts when going about such important chores.

Learning to pay bills, insurance, what insurance to take, and which account to open; neither our parents nor the schools prepare us for the tasks that await us in the real world. They are never discussed, even though they are crucial.

The attitude isn't limited to important outdoor chores. Most men do not know how to perform basic household chores like cooking, cleaning and folding laundry. These chores aren’t just a woman’s responsibilities but all the members of the family, but do we make an effort to teach this to the younger generation? No, rather we make it okay for them to believe it is women's duty to perform household chores.

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Not just this, but skills that help in ">career development, something that is essential for our growth in the outside world, never finds their way to our curriculum. While these are never the primary focus at schools, they are imperative to our growth, In absence of an foundation of how to go about shaping our career, we end up feeling burdened and overwhelmed when the task falls on us as adults.

The next skill that I believe is extremely important in all walks of life is communication. Being able to present your opinions, being able to understand criticism, understanding the rationale behind what others want to convey; these are just a fraction of benefits that good communication skills offer. Effective communication can make or break important aspects of our life, whether it's relationships, careers, or even our own personality.

 These are just a few aspects of adulting that we have to learn ourselves, fail, and try again because no one seems to notice that this is the real skill set we require when we go out to face the world. Hopefully, we will see helpful changes implemented for the sake of the younger generation, as I don't want them to feel intimidated while starting a new phase of their lives.

This article has been published under SheThePeople’s Young Writers Training Program. Views expressed are the author’s own.