Reddit is here to drop some lessons for the adults of the world. While kids and early teens have their ‘is there Santa Claus’ question to ask us, we adults have our version. And like the truth about Santa, truth bombs about adult life can hit hard too. A harsh truth or two can build up your immunity to the train wreck that is hard adult life. But why are these truths so hard-hitting and why is Reddit so full of them?
It is common to hide the ugly truth with lies and deception. Adult life is just one hard, cold and brutal truth one after another. Life lessons get thrown at us every day till we finally take off those rose-colored glasses and see adult life for what it is. But it's part of the process of growing up and becoming an adult. Reddit is full of these so-called “adults”. Most of them spend a lot of time on Ask Reddit talking about things they usually don’t accept or follow. It’s the life of a Redditor. They dash out reality checks left and right, 24 hours a day.
So if you are on the internet to learn some harsh truths about life that Redditors have shared, look no further! The list below might have the greatest life lessons on the internet that you could learn. If a truth hits close to your heart, be sure to upvote it and help others learn it as quickly as possible. But, if the truth is your own version of ‘there is no Santa Claus', be sure to comment down below and say why you refuse to accept it.
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"Retirement is not a physical age. It is a financial state."
I expect to be working into old age. I hear you live longer the longer you work. So I got that going for me.
"The wealth won't actually trickle down."
"HR are not here to protect you, there're here to protect the company's interest."
"Working hard isn't enough to 'make it' - you are more likely to make it if you know the right person and get lucky on top of it."
"Promotions aren't always merit-based, and senior management people don't actually know what they're doing."
In any hierarchy each individual eventually rises to his own level of incompetence an then remains there 🙃
"You aren't getting paid based on how good you are.
You are paid based on how hard you are to replace."
"Nobody has life figured out. We're all just slugging away one day at a time."
Good grief, YES! I'm 45 and when I was in my teens and then my twenties, I just assumed that I would have everything figured out by now. Instead, I just stumble through each day in the same state of bafflement and confusion that I was born with. The only things I've really got straight are that wine and dogs are both unbelievably brilliant.
"There are terrible awful people in the world that get away with all of it and die peacefully in their sleep with no repercussions.
There are people with hearts of gold who get continually wronged by life for no reason.
The adult version of 'there's no santa' is 'the universe doesn't care.'"
My X is a horrible person that divorcing cost me over 50k. We left in the middle of the night and hid out in a women's shelter. Lived poverty level for years to pay it off while he lived in a nice two story with a pool. I thought hell was what earth was. Darkest days of my life.
"Some lazy person out there will have everything they want in life because of good genetics and set up by their rich parents."
In a lot of cases, it's more about the parents then the genes.
"You can do everything right and still fail."
"I used to think all cops (and pretty much any authority figure) were good and just."
I used to think that of teachers, parents, and every other adult in a profession.
"Family will not always be there for you. They may hurt you worse than anyone."
I do my best to be there for my daughter, in all the ways my family was never there for me
"Nobody cares what your GPA was."
…wait really?? What’s the point of school?? I jsut have to graduate at bare minimum. Wtf!!? I’m just gonna stop trying then that’s fine right?? I can’t believe this!!
"Using taxes to build a pro sports stadium and giving the team massive tax breaks will not result in an improved economy in any way. It simply makes the team owners wealthier by shifting their costs to the public."
I don't understand this concept. There's been a few new stadiums built in my city and none have benefitted our economy. Not even the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
"The idea that once you graduate college, or get married, or buy your first house, or have your first child, that you'll 'reach' happiness and stay there the rest of your life, save for the occasional sadness from death of a friend or loved one.
Happiness will go up and down, nothing is permanent. Just gotta maximize [and enjoy] the happy times when you have them."
I can't stand people who have this mentality that if your life doesn't have these aspects, or it all crashes down then it's your fault and you did something wrong and should be shamed for it. Anything can go wrong in and out of your control, with or without warning.
"You are on your own; NO ONE is coming to the rescue."
Wait… sorry let’s just…. Omfg. No thank you. Can I go back to before I read this becuase now I just hurt
"When you become an adult, adults are nowhere near as compassionate towards you."
"Not everyone gets a happy ending. People die too young, grow old but die alone, never find fulfillment, never get financially stable and never find love.
Friends of mine lost their two oldest children in a car accident 4 years ago. The oldest was 7, the middle was 4. The youngest and mother were injured. It rocked my early 20s invincible mindset."
A childhood friend's younger sister died in a car accident back in 2006. She was a senior in high school. She never got to graduate high school. She had plans for college, was a very talented tap-dancer, a boyfriend... all gone. Her mother was driving the car, lost control and that was that. Her mother survived, but suffered a serious brain injury. She didn't even know her youngest daughter died, even after being told several times. Her best friend was also in the car and only suffered minor physical injuries, but was inconsolable at the memorial service. She collapsed in front of her friend's coffin. That was also the last time I saw my friend who killed himself because his parents never accepted his homosexuality. We take far too much for granted.
"There are no "adults", just grown-up children doing what they think is right."
"The realization that life isn’t all you probably expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not worth living. You’re gonna get hit with a lot of shit, some good, some bad. You’re not working toward some end goal that will bring everything to a conclusion once you reach it, you’re just living a series of events. Just go live your life, deal with the shitty parts as best you can, and look forward to the good."
"The narrative that “good always triumphs over evil” is not true in real life the way it is in movies. Many villainous people are extremely successful and will likely never see any consequences for unethical/exploitative actions, even if those actions are technically illegal (especially if the person is wealthy / has a prestigious or powerful social circle).
Also: Money rules the world."
"That sometimes terrible people will just keep being terrible and never have a change of heart or anything negative come of it. That often they'll benefit from being terrible.
But I'd like to believe that no matter what, at least I don't have to spend my life being that person, and I'll be happier with even moderate success that isn't created by being an impossibly shitty person. And that's the closest I'll get to "holiday spirit even though there is no Santa"."
"If you work hard and are loyal to your company, they will be loyal to you.
The sad reality is most large companies don't care anymore and will lay you off after being there for 10+ years even if you were a devoted and hard working employee.
Always have a 6 months pay in the bank and always be networking to have your next job lined up."
"When you buy a house..even if it's all in cash and you paid it off in full...you still have to pay property taxes...forever. You'll never stop shelling out money."
Taxes, maintenance, bills, landscaping, pest control, other ridiculous fees. More if it's a condo. In fact, you're less of a homeowner if you buy a condo.
"That your parents are not necessarily good people..."
Yeah found this out years ago..it was a huge disappointment to 15 year old me
"Rhetoric wins over logic/reality."
YES…this. Very often it can be infuriating. Bit dizzying when you really think about it, how reality doesn’t matter so much as how you can shape it to your advantage and, with merely your words, can manipulate just about any situation. Every lawyer is intimately familiar with this concept as well, I’m sure.
"When you realize that Santa is indeed real - and it’s you."
This is exactly how my daughter thought when she found out Santa isn't real. She's more glad it's me than a "stranger in a suit".
"Everybody lied to you, you cannot be whatever you want to be."
On seventh grade we had to research the career we wanted. I chose freelance artist. Like 17,000 a year. Saw doctor was like 90,000 and I couldn’t live off what I wanted to do.
"That sometimes the right thing to do is obvious but society will punish you if you do it."
"Lots of people were the smartest kid in their high school."
"College is a business."
It is. Recently there was a big exhibition of colleges in my local shopping centre. There were abstract colleges, portrait colleges, even Marvel colleges. All made from torn up bits of paper. Some of them were really beautiful but at £49.99 they were out of my price range. Still, they were selling some so it's definitely a business. Without a doubt.
"The idea that as you get older you'll have stuff figured out and know what to do.
Some might have a life plan they can keep on course, without veering off in a fiery crash. Most don't.
We're really asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because we're looking for ideas ourselves."
"No job is actually professionally run, it’s just a bunch of people pretending everything is fine."
"Politics is mostly smarter people knowing how to manipulate the masses of dumb.
No matter how logical, clever, and ethical your ideas and beliefs are, unless the idiot majority agrees, it's probably not going to happen for a while."
This is why we get the leaders we have. People THINK they know what society needs and go off based on past leaders that did a great job. So they go with the party those leaders represented, and like a huge sports fan, they take on this loyalty like it's some unspoken law. Deep down so many would vote for someone else. I always thought give Green Party a chance. I was told it's considered "throwing away your vote", which makes no sense as they're on the ballot, and free to vote for.
"That people do not care as much as you think when you do something awkward due to shyness."
"Christmas is no longer for you. I got two presents this year. One from my parents and one from my sister. I bought the same number. Preparing Christmas lunch and cleaning up after was hard work. And the 16-hour period in which you’re awake flies by very fucking quickly. It was still fun, but there is no magic like when you’re young.
Same is true of birthdays, which basically become a day of fielding birthday wishes on Facebook, and in calls and texts."
Birthdays started becoming less about me and more about my mom when I was a teen. If it wasn't done her way there was no party. She banned my birthdays after a cleanable popcorn mess. That was also the day my friends saw my mom for who she truly is, and not the act she puts on for guests. Christmas is still nice, but it's all up to me to make it that way. Christmas does fly by fast. Once you start working and old enough to be responsible you're now expected to buy presents for all your family members, or give them cards. My mom now expects me to include unexpected people, like a new boyfriend of hers or her siblings. TF am I supposed to know what to get them? Christmas dinners are now expected to be at my place, no matter how little seating and room there is, and everyone just comes over and starts rearranging tables and chairs, touching my stuff, including windows and the thermostat. And then you start thinking back if you were ever that invasive to your family.
"Somebody you know hates you. For no reason. They probably dont even know why themselves. And no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do in life you will never, ever change that."
"Tax returns aren’t money the government is giving you. It’s money the government took from you in excess of what it should’ve/needed to, and it’s just returning to you. It kept the money all this time and pays no interest on it."
"My life will really begin when X happens. Right now is just a phase."
Keeping thinking that and life will whiz right by you until the day you die.
"You probably won't have summers off."
It felt weird to not have summer, spring and winter vacation like I did in school.
"It’s a lot harder to makes friends after college. That is likely the last organic friend-making environment you will ever be in."
"You are going to die. All of your friends, family, and beloved acquaintances will die."
I cried when I filled out my beneficiaries list for my health insurance at work. It's not pleasant to think about.
"You can be skilled, charasmatic, talented, successful, and be good looking. But that will still never be enough for some people."
"You can’t just exercise away a bad diet.
You can work really hard and still be broke.
No one has a nice, normal family and you and your family are perfectly normal by being not-normal at all."
"The idea of cosmic justice - that good people will be rewarded and bad people punished."
"Even if you do everything "right", your ability to find a high paying job (or relatively high paying job) is dependent on factors outside your control."
"When they hire you on the spot, it's not because you're an amazing person with so many credentials. It's because it's a really shitty job, and they desperately need to fill it for the third time this month."
Yup. My current job. So desperate they are I got the interview, hired and put in my 2 weeks in the same day. I've found it not a terrible job. Just not for everyone. You sorta do have to have thick skin and own up to your mistakes, and really try to just learn the job. I've noticed 2 other new people in my same position didn't last long for various reasons. But a couple others have stayed and are getting more ahead than me. That's another harsh lesson in life. Just because you've worked somewhere longer and try hard, doesn't mean you'll move up before fresh meat comes along and moves up past you.
"Friends and relationships don't just happen anymore. You have to go out and make them happen - except you can't make them happen, because people choose who they want to spend their time with arbitrarily, and it is up to you to be someone worth choosing.
Doesn't matter if you're a good or bad person.
Doesn't matter if you're financially secure or destitute.
Doesn't matter if you're attractive or not.
Doesn't matter if you're life is well put together or if you're a complete trash fire.
People can't help who they want to be around, and a lot of the time that isn't going to be you. It isn't your fault, but there's not a lot that can be done about it. You have to be willing to put in the effort to be sociable, to be someone that people want to be around but at the same time be okay with everyone and anyone not really feeling you at any given time."
This is very true as an adult. Everyone seems to have their own clicks. I have to work at a friend relationship these days. I find it's even worse if one is not on social media as everyone seems to live their lives through facebook, etc these days....I guess I'll just keep missing out and just hang with my bestie.
"There is no safety net to catch you from hitting rock bottom."
“When you hit rock bottom there’s only one way left to go- Up!”
"Thought all adults knew exactly what they were doing and knew all. I’m now an adult and everyone around me is basically winging it."
"The two guys from Mythbusters are not friends."
Same with the 4 ladies on The Social and those other shows where the hosts are buddy-buddy. Only exception is on Good Mythical Morning. Rhett and Link are childhood friends.
"There is no such thing as "the one" in terms of relationships.
You are potentially compatible with a great many people and probably some people you wouldn't expect. Whether or not you ever meet them or give them a shot is a whole other thing. But the fairy tale idea that we are destined to be with one person in particular is surprisingly common among grown adults."
"The winners on The Price is Right can’t take the item home until they pay the sales tax. So if you are broke and win a car, you can’t even have the car. My world was shattered.
Edit- I have been schooled, people pay income tax not sales tax but in the state of California, that has to be paid before the contestants can take the items home."
Wasn't there a recurring contestant who was on TPIR who won a bunch of times, but was also on welfare and she got in big trouble for lying about her winnings?
"You're only really worth what you can offer to other people."
"There is no high metabolism.
You can't eat like a Jughead anymore or you'll wind up looking like Ralphie May."
It just slows when you're in your 20s when you stop growing but eat as if you're still a growing teen.
"Your boss doesn't actually understand what's going on he kind of just makes all of his decisions based on "this person sounds confident, so they probably know what they're doing" vs. "This person sounds unsure so I should tell them to look into whatever it is they are talking about more thoroughly". And that's pretty much their entire job."
"That's really difficult to put into words, but it largely relates towards my expectations of other kids when they'd grow up to be adults. I think I thought the pettiness and cruelity I witnessed was something they'd grow out of, and for while into early adulthood I thought it was true, but in recent years, I've realized that for a very large percent of them, it's just been transfered to whatever they see as outside their tribe. Be it politics, religion, nationality, or smaller groups within.
Still, it's no reason to give up and join them. I still think we have the potential for a lot of good in the world."
"You have to pay your own bills & do your own taxes..."
""You're a hard worker. You're fired anyway because we're reducing headcount."
But, but I was told working hard meant...... yea, Santa Claus."
"There is no beer fairy."
"There is no student loan relief."
There is also no credit relief. Bankruptcy is not a "get out of paying" card. You still have to pay it, along with interest. It's a formal declaration to show bill collectors you indeed have no money to hustle the payments, so don't bother calling.
