Redditor Athompson9866 asked:
"What was f'king awesome as a kid, but sucks as an adult?"
Luxury Bones
"Losing a tooth"
- Content-Discussion56
"Oh yes! Can you imagine running around showing your family: 'Look! I lost a tooth! Doesn't it make me look adorable?'"
"And when you are a kid, a lost tooth makes you money. $ As an adult, it costs you way more than all the money the tooth fairy ever gave you."
- 4ninawells
It's All Junk
"Getting mail. I remember everyday begging my parents if I got mail. (I had pen pals). I got so excited when something came for me. Now I dread going to the mailbox because all that will be there are bills."
- Slowmechanic180
"Always bills 😞"
- Athompson9866
"And junk scams or advertisements"
- bsEEmsCE
Doughboys Cost How Much?!
"The State Fair. Especially now that I have to pay for everything."
- Lala6699
"My parents took us to Disney World for a week as kids. I went for 4 days with my husband a few years ago and wanted to go home with how expensive everything was. I went home and thanked my parents for that trip."
- jetsqueak
"'2 slices of pizza and 2 sodas? That’ll be $35 please.' —The County Fair"
- oiwefoiwhef
Get In, Get Out
"Going to the mall. I used to like browsing stores, but now I just want to get what I need and go."
- JumpyBomber
"I mean, most malls are also depressing vistas of empty storefronts bookended by a department store on life support these days"
- negativeyoda
"There used to be fun things at the mall. An arcade, stores with stuff in them to look at... now it's empty except for maybe a drug store and a grocery store."
- arvy_p
World Go Spinny
"Spinning in circles."
"I try to do that now while holding my little one and I do about two spins before I'm lightheaded and dizzy as a drunk."
- lamacake
"Turning my head too fast makes me dizzy and nauseated lol"
- Athompson9866
"I was soooo surprised by this as an adult! Spinning and rollercoasters are fun as a child. I tried that as an adult with my kids and felt like I was going to die. The dizziness takes so much longer to go away and you feel terrible the whole time."
- AgeOfJace
"Staying awake till 2 in the morning as a teen/young adult: 'Yea baby!! the possibilities are ENDLESS!!'"
"Staying awake till 2 in the morning as a 40-something: 'This is gonna hurt in the morning'"
- Significant_Map122
"My circadian rhythm is set so firmly that I know I'm still gonna wake up at 7 am no matter how late I try to stay up so I hate staying up past 1 am. I'm usually in bed by like 9:30pm these days just cause I'd rather get comfortable and play a game on my phone until I get sleepy."
"I'm 38 with the sleep schedule of a 4 year old but I don't care."
- JoeyJoJo_Junior
All Pain, All The Time
"No Pain! I could fall down, scrap my knee and cry for like 1 minute and then get back up and ride a bike, or play tag or whatever. Now, I fall down... I am staying down and may need Life Alert! I have to take advil, put my knee up with Ice, and complain to my wife how painful it is for the next week. That is if I am lucky and didn't break the whole thing."
- Ekecede
"So I'm like into jogging now and I wished I got into it when I was younger. After a run, I felt this weird pain, like a bruise, on the back of my right foot. Long story short, it's Haglund's deformity. I googled it and it said, 'it's a common injury that occurs to middle aged people who runs.'"
"I don't know what hurts more, my foot or my self esteem when I realize now I'm middle-aged."
- mymymissmai
🎶 Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel ... Blah
"Summer. When you’re a kid, it's three months of freedom from school. When you’re an adult, you still have to go to work, but now it’s sweltering hot and you’re sweating your balls off all day, every day."
- chadthundertalk
"This is the answer I was looking for. It’s even harder if you are a working parent - trying to give your kid that super awesome summer while trying to keep your job. That balance between 'I want to come play at the park with you' and 'I really don’t want to lose my job' is hard."
- kennedar_1984
Sick Days
"Staying home on a sick day."
"As a kid it was a huge victory, got to stay in bed all day, watch TV, and having a parent tend to your every need. Then as an adult you're just thinking about the work you're gonna have to make up for and how you hope you don't need to go to a doctor."
- -eDgAR-
"Hehe, now there's WFH so you can be sick AND still work! Got COVID? Well, we have to get this proposal out today and you have a laptop, right?"
- Thunderhorse74
Adulthood definitely isn't the sunshine and roses most of us thought it was going to be when we were little, that's for sure.
Redditor kaizen1989 asked:
"Which cartoon character becomes more relatable,the older you get?"
Party Poopers
"The overly cautious fun suckers in any Disney movie."
"Zazu from The Lion King, Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, and Bagheera from Jungle Book come to mind."
- SheenzMe
"Zazu has a line where he's complaining to Simba, 'The sooner we get to the watering hole, the sooner we can leave!'"
"Do I now identify with Zazu on a spiritual level rather than just childishly thinking he's a killjoy?"
"Yes."
- poppyfairy
GiphyWe're All Depressed
"Eeyore. I'm tired, depressed and grey most of the time."
- Striking-Ferret8216
"And yet, when people are depending on you, you try to help. (Eeyore is my favorite character)"
- Gen-Jinjur
We all have annoying coworkers
"Benson from regular show. After becoming a supervisor/manager, you start to realize how much the little things employees do add up and make you absolutely hate your life"
- ostrichual
"The clip where benson has a breakdown when Mordecai and Rigby spent all night inside an arcade. When he said how this job is all he has left. That sh*t hit me nowadays…."
- Dinobob
Propane and Propane Accessories
"Definitely Hank Hill. Especially now that I have to listen to a guy I know talk about conspiracy theories all the time. I've even got my own damn Dale."
- AstroWorldSecurity
"I love that clip of Hank finally getting fed up and calling out Dale’s BS. Maybe it will give you some peace."
- TheRavenSayeth
"Dale you giblet head, we live in Texas!"
- Daikataro
Hank Hill Smh GIFGiphy"Everything Has a Beginning and an End"
"Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop."
- Prank_Owl
"The absolute exhaustion in his every syllable"
- puttyarrobro
"Lol he's only 35."
- NoThxBtch
"35 going on 50. Seriously though, Jet was an 'old soul' at 35."
- Orome2
Totally Misunderstood
"The Grinch. He just wanted to chill with his dog in peace and quiet."
- -eDgAR-
"'The grinch didn't hate Christmas, he hated people. And that is fair. -Jim Carrey (paraphrased)"
- plz2meatyu
"I have told my wife this. They ostracized him as a child and basically made him an outcast. Why? He looked different. He was a nice kid who just wanted to fit in. He is mercilessly picked on until he is old enough to live on his own. He is so mentally destroyed that he lives in a cave filled with trash because that's what he feels his self worth is. No one has ever been nice to him. He is suspicious when Cindy Lou tries to be nice to him. He wants to rejoin society, I think, but had no reason to believe it'll be a good experience. He hates Whoville and all the residents because they've treated him awful his whole life. Why do they get to have a merry Christmas, screw them. But it's the grinch, and not that town, that is the villain."
- RoccoTaco_Dog
Every Parent Ever
"Stu Pickles"
- TrickBoom414
"The chocolate pudding scene rings true to this day."
- SomwhatCharmedLife
"'Why on earth are you making chocolate pudding?' 'Because I've lost control of my life.'"
- Brain_lessV2
Sweet Solitude Shouldn't Be Too Much To Ask
"Shrek. F**k outta my swamp, I just want to enjoy my solitude with my wife."
- Onomatopaella
Ohana
"Nani from Lilo and Stitch."
- jestagoon
"Every time I think about how hard Nani had it, I remember the shelf of surfing trophies in her room. Girl could have probably made some cash as a pro surfer but had to shift to a more stable job as a waitress because that’s what Lilo needed."
- Threspian
lilo and stitch lol GIF by DisneyGiphyMaybe He Had a Point
"King Triton from the little mermaid—yes, he overreacted by destroying her stuff, but like. He did also have a point for being upset with Ariel’s irresponsibility and sneaking out."
- ctortan
"Plus he had spent his time and magic hiding the Atlanteans and their world. she’s just like 'f**kkkk it I’m horrrrnnnyyyyy. I’m gonna undo thousands of years of hard work and sacrifices my family has made.'"
- duchessisboss
The characters that we related to as kids often come to seem silly or irresponsible as we get older, and those that we thought of as stuffy or overbearing can seem much more reasonable when we understand what handling real adult responsibilities is really like.
Redditor Palarity was curious to hear some of the rude awakenings people had as they entered adulthood, leading them to ask:
"What were you grossly unprepared for as an adult?"
Who's the boss here? Wait, me?!
"The slow realization that I am the adult in the room who's supposed to help out everyone else."- lapsangsouchogn
Not relying on your parents anymore
"Trivial in comparison to many things, but keeping up familial social obligations."
"Like, it's now on me to check in with aunt M and how she's recovering after her recent surgery, send a gift to cousin K's new baby, congratulate 2nd cousin T on his graduation, etc."
"Gone are the days when my mom did all of that and I just had to sign my name on the card or whatever."- InannasPocket
Role Playing Reaction GIF by Hyper RPGNo more chilling on the quad...
"Going from having tons of friends to really having no one."- ZachariahCasey
Wondering if you have, in fact, "grown up".
"How much I still feel like a kid on the inside."- RosesSpins
Life is precious and unpredictable.
"Loss."
"As time passes and you become an adult, there are two guarantees:"
"1: the adults that shaped you, whom you love and adore, also get older."
"Older and sicker and will die, hopefully later but sometimes so much sooner than you would ever imagine."
"And 2: Peers and folks younger than you will die too, often with little to no rhyme or reason."
"My parents would say growing up that 'death is a part of life'.”
"But I’m not sure there is any way to prepare for really UNDERSTANDING that fact until you experience it yourself as you grow up."- Mbathrowaway202two
Taking care of yourself
"Dealing with a chronic health issue."- Square_Tangelo_7542
It's not all fun and games
"How little time in a week there is to enjoy 'life' after working full time."- Ser0t0n1n
Too Much Deadline GIF by Jeremy Speed SchwartzGiphyThat some people don't grow up.
'How insecure and incompetent other adults are."- ducvette
Bullies aren't only found in high schools.
"Bullying at the workplace by other 'adults'."- MathematicianOld1117
The truth is, nothing can prepare anyone for adulthood.
Primarily owing to the fact that no one follows the same path, so there is just no telling what life has in store for you.
But maybe the best part of being an adult, is that you are always learning, only now you don't have to show up to class or hand in homework to prove the lesson has sunk in.