There’s this weird culture of telling kids when they stress about school “u ain’t seen nothin yet hun! Wait till u do tax returns! Hahaha adulthood is fucking hell!” And i hate it b/c
1) it’s flat out untrue. Adulthood is a breeze compared to school. I have time to myself to do what I find fun and can make my own choices. Like, yeah, I’m poor and have to take care of myself, but the central activity of my life– work – is waaaaaay easier than school, mentally and emotionally.
2) Part of the reason school made me anxious to the point of considering suicide is that I had this wrong idea, drilled into my head by YEARS of people saying this, that if I didn’t do well in school, I would be a useless member of society, unable to be productive or do anything meaningful. Failing a class meant I might as well be dead. That’s the false equivalence this culture creates. But grades don’t mean SHIT in the workforce unless you’re trying to become a college professor or do something that requires a hella advanced degree.
3) it helps no one to say this! All it does is give mentally ill children, most of whom are already struggling to get through the DAY, the idea that it will only get much, much worse. I know I couldn’t cope with that thought. Any future planning past my 20s was blocked out in a haze of terror at the thought of having to persevere that long, only to get a shittier situation at the end. But it’s not shittier. I have to be more responsible, but this is a piece of goddamn cake compared to even High School. The only reason to say this to a teenager is to inflate your own sense of superiority over someone who is still learning how the world works.
So like. Can we kill this culture? Please?
reblog because my first year of college is really hitting me right about now
hahaha middle school me would be so pissed to learn that NO ONE gives a shit of you excuse yourself/peace out for a minute to use the bathroom
YEAH hey everyone going through middle/high school right now? This is the worst part of your life. If you make it through this you can make it through anything, I promise it only gets better from here. Hang in there, and ignore everyone who threatens you with the “real world” laying in wait–you’re living in the “real world” right now (your experiences, your suffering is real!) and everything that comes after this is both WAY easier and has more space for happiness.
Hang on, friends, because I promise, adulthood makes it worthwhile.
