Nothing gives you a shock to the system quite like moving away from home for the first time. Maybe you're one of many in a college dorm. Perhaps you're living with roommates somewhere. Or you might be enjoying the pleasure of having your own place for the first time.
Either way, it's a lot to take in––responsibility can be terrifying! Thanks to Redditor In-Kii for today's burning question: "When you moved out of home for the first time what didn't you expect?"
"I think that one thing..."
I think that one thing I had not expected was loneliness.
The reason that it was so unexpected is that, while I had a good relationship with my family, it wasn't as if I was constantly spending time with them.
Somehow, though, the mere presence of my family in the same home - even while not in the same room with me - had apparently been something of which I was subconsciously aware. When I began to live alone, I was suddenly aware of the loss of that sense and, at times, would feel lonely as a result.
"You never think about..."
How expensive living is. You never think about how much toilet paper or trash bags cost as a kid and then you go to the store for the first time.
"Turns out..."
Honestly I didn't expect how much I would thrive. My parents were always rushing me out of bed, telling me when do to my homework, basically on my back about everything growing up. I was kind of worried that without that constant nagging and pressure, I just wouldn't function. Turns out when left alone, I do all that stuff (and more) just on my own time, and for the most part it works out nicely. I never slept through an alarm in college, I always got my homework done (got better grades throughout all of college than I ever did in high school), my dorm was always clean (especially by college dorm standards). Turns out I always was a very neat, organized, and focused person, I just didn't respond well to being told when and how to do it.
"How different..."
How different having roommates is from living with your family.
My family has always been pretty close, and when at home we would often all be in the living room interacting while doing our own things, and meals were often together.
When I moved in with roommates (whom I knew beforehand and got along with), I almost never saw them. They mostly stayed in their rooms and we all had meals at different times, so there were not a lot of organic ways to spend time together. It was weird to feel lonely in a shared living space.
"How mundane..."
GiphyHow mundane my life would be, in spite of being able to do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it.
"How expensive..."
How expensive food is, from a grocery store or otherwise. Also, grocery shopping is overwhelming. What do I buy? I can make anything now, I'm not working with what just shows up in my fridge. My only limit is my imagination and very small budget.
Also, I didn't have to ask my mom before I got a cat which was a weird feeling.
"How much..."
How much I'd miss prepared home cooked meals as soon as I get home. I was so looking forward to deciding what I want for dinner or eating out and get what I want. But after a few months I realized how tired I was to even think about cooking and how unhealthy all that take out food feels.
"I have my parents..."
How quiet it gets. I have my parents and 3 siblings so I was always used to having someone else with several pets at home. I work at night so quite often I'm alone during the week while the roommates are at work. It was almost unsettling how empty the house felt for a long time
"...it gets eaten..."
How quickly food expires. Turns out when you have 5 people in the house, it gets eaten long before it begins growing mould. When you're on your own, not so much...
"Every home..."
Every home has its own set of noises, from inside and out, that you need to get used to.
Expect to possibly have some trouble sleeping the few nights because of this, particularly if you don't have much furniture to absorb sound (also the same issue learning light patterns is your windows face in a different direction).
Many high school graduates face the conundrum of what to major in when they go on to pursue higher education.
Teens who haven't already sparked an interest in a particular field by the time they graduate wind up buying more time waiting for enlightenment by electing "undecided."
But to avoid any stigma of being an idle scholar, some students settle on majors they thought never existed.
"Fun with pasta," anyone?
While such a major might not exist, I wouldn't put it past some academia for coming up with it.
Curious to hear what those unheard-of specialized fields of study are out there, Redditor GazelleHistorical705 asked:
"What is the most ridiculous college major you’ve ever heard of?"
Majors with one word, please.
Sounds Like A Hard Major
"PENIS. My school offered a major in Political Economy of Newly Industrialized Societies, but eventually realized the acronym and changed the name. Pity. I hope some were able to get their degrees with a concentration in PENIS."
– OhMaiMai
Hidden Objective
"Golf."
"It was made so the Vice Chancellor could buy a private golf course for the university, so he could play on it. I believe it had 5 enrollments ever, and one was a joke that didnt show up or pay. It got cancelled the first year, but he got to enjoy his own personal golf course for some years after."
– jadelink88
Just Throwing Ideas
"Frisbee. A friends roommate at Amherst was in some kind of 'create your own major' thing and chose frisbee. His family had momey and college was just a formality."
– hightower65
Certain concepts as a major were hard to grasp.
Seed Of Despotism
"IIRC, like 20 years ago some college in Indiana offered a major in World Domination."
– Rev_Christopheles
"You can only get a job as a henchman with a BS."
"You need a full PhD to be an evil mastermind."
– JimBean823
A Vague Focus
"PhD in general studies."
– dravik
"Tf do you even write your dissertation about."
– Fragile_Line
"Everything."
– ProsciuttoPizza
"Generally."
– cropguru357
Let's Take It Outside
"An old friend has a Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Activities. He was never able to explain exactly what that meant, though."
– EnlargedBit371
"A guy I know majored in Recreation."
– kmsc87
"When I was there, my college had one of the top Parks Recreation and Tourism Management (PRTM) programs in the country."
"It had the nickname 'Party Right Through May.'”
"It was extremely popular with student athletes, especially football players."
"There’s always a demand for graduates too. It seems like one of those fields where you shouldn’t need a college degree to do the work, but you need one to get in the door."
– JimBeam823
Going At Your Own Pace
"When I was in uni my friend dated a guy who was majoring in leisure studies. I used to joke that leisure studies is a 4 year program, but if you’re good enough at it you can do it in 6."
– Mtldoggogogo
Things went up a notch.
Arghhh Ya Kiddin' Me?
"At MIT you can be certified in being a pirate if you complete the courses of pistol, archery, sailing, and fencing."
– yhdreytaweatrst
"It’s not a major, it’s a certificate. But if I ever get my own office it’s going in a very nice diploma frame and I’m gonna see who notices."
– PoorCorrelation
Veritable Hodgepodge
"My university had an Interdisciplinary Studies department that served mainly to get super duper seniors graduated. They would cobble together the random credits people got because they changed majors every semester into a 'degree.' You get some wild majors like a BA in Culinary Traditions and Music in the Former British Empire."
– pinelands1901
Sapphic Education
"My college briefly had a major in Nordic Lesbianism."
– WhizzleTeabags
"I've read many of the responses on here where most of them weren't ridiculous imo but you gave the best one!"
– 90DayTroll
"HUH."
– OP
Make It Up
"At a graduation at the University of Redlands. They have a degree whereby you basically take the classes you want and call it what you want."
"The degree conferred was, I kid you not: 'Still trying to figure out who I am.'”
– dmur726
Clearly there's a major for all occasions.
But at the end of the day, does it really matter as long as you have a BA in something to show you were academically tenacious?
Now go out there and carve out your own path, young scholars!
Just make sure you can pay off those student loans.
Maybe there should be a major on how to avoid debt.
In the 1987 movie Wall Street, actor Michael Douglas' antihero Gordon Gekko infamously said:
"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."
The quote became a perfect representation of rampant corporate greed and corruption prevalent in the era during and after Republican President Ronald Reagan's stint in the Oval Office. The Reagan administration pushed deregulation and elimination of consumer protections.
While the government may not always step in to thwart shady or harmful businesses, consumers have one way to control them—their money.
Money talks.