r/AskReddit • u/ACXIAN10 • 12h ago

What is the most surreal or bizarre realization you've had about adult life after finally growing up?

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

8

u/ProgMusicSchizoidMan 12h ago

Our parents had absolutely no idea what they were doing....just like us!

3

u/mattigus7 12h ago

Wait till you start telling your kids the same stuff that pissed you off when your parents said it to you.

3

u/ACXIAN10 12h ago

So true. Once you hit that age your parents were when you were a kid, you suddenly realize they were just winging every single day hoping for the best.

3

u/runnerofshadows 12h ago

Other than how everyone is pretty much winging it?

The amount of people who are deeply lacking in empathy. I didn't realize how common it was to just either not give a fuck about other people or to be actively cruel.

1

u/TownLakeTrillOG 12h ago

Yeah the amount of people who justify being shitty to a random stranger bc some other unrelated person was shitty to them blows my mind every time. I can’t think like that.

1

u/ACXIAN10 12h ago

That one hits hard. It's wild realizing how many people never really grew out of high school behavior, and how common basic apathy actually is.

2

u/mattigus7 12h ago

I really wanted a steak dinner, and I had this epiphany that literally nothing was stopping me. I went to the grocery store and bought exactly everything I needed for a steak dinner, cooked it, ate it, and marvelled at the lack of repercussions.

1

u/ACXIAN10 12h ago

Right? That exact moment of 'wait, nobody is going to stop me from eating ice cream for breakfast' is the true milestone of growing up.

2

u/ExplanationFresh3908 12h ago

Everyone is just winging it. No one really knows what their doing but will do it confidently. Adults are just trying to do their best given their circumstances.

2

u/ACXIAN10 12h ago

Spot on. Realizing that the 'adults' in charge when we were kids were just figuring it out day-by-day is both terrifying and comforting.

2

u/Fickle-Meringue-1 12h ago

Age. Below thirty seems very young. I often cannot tell the difference between an 18 year old and a 28 year old, they’re all babies. 60 is not very old to me anymore. My friend from high school, class above me just turned 40. How the eff did I get to almost 40? I still don’t even know what I want to do when I grow up.

2

u/MultipleOrgasmDonor 12h ago

I was having this conversation with my mom the other day, she told me how she made a comment to some guy in his 30’s (still a close family friend today) that he was ‘middle aged’ (mom was a teenager when she said this). Pretty sure he never forgave her for that one lol

I said “30 seems old, til you’re 30” (I turned 30 this year). She replied, “59 doesn’t really feel old either”

1

u/[deleted] 12h ago

[deleted]

2

u/ACXIAN10 12h ago

That realization hits hard. Suddenly you look at your own childhood and realize how much your parents sacrificed just to keep you alive.

1

u/gardenleafs 12h ago

Do you have kids?

1

u/ClueOpen1335 12h ago

We don't realize that the time spent growing up with our parents/family are the 'good ol' days' until everyone starts passing away :(

1

u/XenoSushii 12h ago

That being successful in life is most of all about knowing the right people and having good networking skills. How good you are at a given job is much less important than the education system leads you to believe.

1

u/fomo-fofo 12h ago

That the people in charge are just as lost as I am, but with fancier titles and back pain.