‘What’s the hardest part of adulthood nobody warned you about?’ – 21 surprises sprung by growing up

When you’re a child, you imagine being an adult is simply a fantastic opportunity to do whatever you like, from eating sweets for dinner to having an endless supply of money.

But the reality is rather different, and a heck of a lot more mundane.

Over on the r/answers subreddit, latinavalery asked this question:

‘What’s the hardest part of adulthood nobody warned you about?’

And lots of people chipped in with the things, large and small, that they didn’t expect they’d have to be dealing with, like these…

1.

‘You’re pretty much alone. Being alone isn’t a bad thing.’
–Friendly_Party8683

2.

‘One day you get a little sleepy and then you never go back.’
–tbgabc123

3.

‘You have decide what to eat three times a day for the rest of your life.’
–Gregthepigeon

4.

‘The incessant parade of belligerent morons.’
–mightymouse8324

5.

‘It doesn’t end. There’s no goal post of June and then 3 months of relaxing. It just keeps going.’
–Federal-Sport239

6.

‘All the paperwork.’
–Tumbling_Dragon

7.

‘The more you know about the world we live in, the worse you feel about it. And with the internet, it’s hard to look away.’
–Kellzy1212

8.

‘Not trying to sound like a mother hen here, but you’ve got to look away to save your own mental health.

‘Also, one thing I tell my clients who struggle with this issue to the point that it leads to clinical depression and nihilism, anytime you hear about something terrible in the world, look up charities and organisations who might be trying to do something about it.

‘There is almost always someone out there doing what they can to counter the awful. It doesn’t make everything better or make the problems go away but it does provide hope and some of my clients have even gone to work for organisations that are doing great things and making an impact.’
–DecemberViolet1984

9.

‘The monotony – every. Fecking. Day.’
–DidntYouReadTheWiki

10.

‘There is no such thing as an ADULT age. You can be a 50-year-old child.’
–Aggravating-Law7764

11.

‘Making your own appointments.’
–Starskiiiiii

12.

‘The relentless squeeze from all sides. Just as you think you’re getting ahead, something breaks and sets you back 10 paces.’
–icebox_Lew