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These 30 Things Are The Adult Equivalents Of Finding Out Santa Isn’t Real, According To Netizens
Life is full of hard truths, but sometimes it takes a while to discover them. Kids believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus, but it’s inevitable that these fantasies will come crashing down once they get older.
Someone asked the internet, “What’s the adult equivalent of realizing that Santa Claus doesn’t exist?” and netizens were only too happy to share their lessons about the harsh realities of adulting. Here’s our pick of some of the best answers.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Money CAN buy happiness.
Matt Du 1 month ago
If you have ever been homeless and sleeping on cardboard boxes in the winter, you will know this is 100% true. Money is warmth, food, security, more clothes than the ones you are standing up in and showers. Being rich is no long needing to constantly worry that one day it could all be taken away
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#2
Grades mean nothing once you leave school.
M O'Connell 1 month ago
Tell that to the job that wants my high school transcripts even though I'm 37.
#3
Bad things happen to good people and there’s nothing you can do about it but endure.
Transitioning into adulthood brings with it a series of realizations that can be both challenging and enlightening. Despite our best efforts, facts don't always align with our expectations. Adulthood also introduces nuanced choices, each carrying potential long-term consequences and often involving trade-offs.
As you get older, you come to realize that your parents are just people trying to do their best, your paycheck never goes as far as you’d like it to, hard work doesn’t always deliver rich rewards, and life is full of mundane activities you’d rather not spend so much time on, like laundry and washing the dishes after dinner.
#6
Religion is all social control.
Adulting properly means ongoing learning and adaptation. The skills and knowledge that brought you success in the past might not cut it for future challenges, so a commitment to personal and professional growth is of critical importance. Along the way you’re bound to have to make some sacrifices, but that’s called growing up.
Forming and maintaining friendships as an adult are harder too. Unlike the spontaneous connections of youth, adult friendships often need to be scheduled and nurtured amidst busy lives. This is when you discover that some friendships just weren’t meant to last the test of time, while others can survive anything life throws at them.
#7
- the day you realize you’re the same age as your parents were when you were a kid, and you have no idea of what you’re doing.
- There is no justice in the universe. Terrible people will profit from terrible things, compound wealth, and live to a ripe old age without ever facing accountability. Good people will struggle every day until they die.
Sky Render 1 month ago
Easily the most brilliant scam by horrible people was inventing the concept of "horrible people will get their comeuppance once they die" and implementing it into religions everywhere.
#8
That your parents are just people trying to get through life too!!
#9
Realizing that human nature doesn’t change and that greed, stupidity, and cruelty will be with us forever.
If you’re struggling to face up to the harsh realities of life as an adult, you might find comfort in Stoicism, an ancient Greek philosophy that emphasizes the development of self-control, virtue, and rational thinking to achieve inner peace and resilience. Founded in the early 3rd century BC, it teaches that while we cannot control external events, we can control our responses to them, thereby cultivating tranquility and equanimity.
The key principles of Stoicism include focusing on what you can control, practicing the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance, and accepting fate, or embracing events as they happen. Incorporating Stoic practices into your daily life can lead to personal growth and a more balanced perspective, which is never a bad thing.
#10
It's always been the haves vs the have-nots.
Sky Render 1 month ago
Forcibly segregating the population into diametrically opposed groups and pitting them against each other is a classic control move by governments and societies. It persists because it works!
#11
College doesnt necessarily equate to having a good, high paying job.
Sky Render 1 month ago
Nor does a college education ensure that someone is not a blithering idiot.
#12
That 401Ks were never supposed to be the retirement plan, they were originally supposed to supplement your pension.
Also, pensions.
In her article for the Develop Good Habits website, Nicole Krause lists things all adults should know - an Adulting 101 of sorts. Krause suggests developing your financial know-how by getting to grips with your budget, taking your domestic duties seriously, maintaining good eating habits, and making a point of seeing your doctor and dentist.
In his article for Psychology Today, licensed marriage and family therapist, John Kim, writes that adulting is a process - it takes lots of trial and error and hard reminders from life and expired relationships. Kim advises taking full responsibility for where you’re at in your life, checking your ego, practicing gratitude, and always being honest with yourself.
#14
Being a loyal hard worker is not the way to get ahead for most people 🤷 .
#15
Discovering that HR works for the company’s best interests, not the employees’.
Apatheist Account2 1 month ago
I've seen both types - the worst are the HR people who think they run the place and don't allow managers to manage.
It’s fair to say it’s a hard knock life for us adults but always remember the freedom that comes with being a grown-up; it’s what you lusted after when you were still a kid with a curfew and no car to call your own.
What do you think of the facts about adulting netizens have shared in this list? Are any of them hitting home for you? Upvote your favorites and don’t forget to leave a comment if you can relate!
#16
Extra costs of owning a home.
UncleJohn3000 1 month ago (edited)
When you buy a house, you are also buying a portion of the nearest hardware store.
#17
That politicians really care.
Easter bunny is a fraud.
Sky Render 1 month ago
Some politicians genuinely care about their constituents; these are rare. Many only care about keeping their job because it's the closest they'll ever come to getting paid to do nothing.
#18
Thinking that as an adult, you can do anything you want.
Clown fish 1 month ago (edited)
Well I can but it may get me arrested, beat up, lose money, or die and and lot of other things that stop me doing what every I want
#19
When people do something to p**s you off, most of the time it’s not malice, it’s incompetence.
Edit: in other words, don’t take things so personally.
#20
Nothings really free everything has a price.
Most people really are just winging it.
There is no right way, just ways we know work.
There are no good billionaires.
Tyranamar Seuss 1 month ago
Bill Gates ex wife is a billionaire and spends all of her time trying to give the money away. There are some philanthropic billionaires. Unfortunately others are just hoarding the money and refusing to pay their staff fair wages or give decent benefits.
#21
The stock market is a ponzi scheme manipulated by the largest holders. Social Security is not guaranteed and our elected officials sold us out. Taxation is without representation since at least the 1980s.
Hidalgo 1 month ago
If the US had a financial system that was as well regulated and as fair as Australia’s, US could have a superannuation scheme as like Australia or some other countries. Any attempt to replace Social Security with a privatized system would result in theft of funds by the financiers on an unimaginable scale.
#23
That you can bust your a*s at work day in and day out and still never get ahead.
#25
Figuring out how tariffs actually work.
#27
Mortgage interest paid doesn't equal like, a $20k tax return.
Mental Liberals 1 month ago
And you will NEVER own your home!! Taxed until death, and even afterwards!
#29
That school's primary function is not about getting you a job that you really enjoy, but instead it's about being part of the big economic machine.
Bean Driller 1 month ago
The primary job of a high school is to get kids across that graduation stage at any price.
What do you think ?
Sky Render 1 month ago
One big wake-up call as an adult is realizing that society has been "going to the dogs" since before you were born and will continue to be "going to the dogs" long after you die. Your parents probably shielded you from it when you were a kid, but the idea that everything is getting worse all the time is nothing new.
BookFanatic 1 month ago
You're not invincible. I had perfect health until I was 42. In the past three years I've had two types of cancer, adult onset asthma, unspecified lung disease, three operations, and I just got diagnosed with osteoporosis. Sigh.
Nancy Bania 1 month ago
That god isn't real either. It's just c**p your parents fed you to make you fear and behave. Just like Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc.
Sky Render 1 month ago
One big wake-up call as an adult is realizing that society has been "going to the dogs" since before you were born and will continue to be "going to the dogs" long after you die. Your parents probably shielded you from it when you were a kid, but the idea that everything is getting worse all the time is nothing new.
BookFanatic 1 month ago
You're not invincible. I had perfect health until I was 42. In the past three years I've had two types of cancer, adult onset asthma, unspecified lung disease, three operations, and I just got diagnosed with osteoporosis. Sigh.
Nancy Bania 1 month ago
That god isn't real either. It's just c**p your parents fed you to make you fear and behave. Just like Santa, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc.
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