Do you remember being a teenager? At the time, we thought we had it all figured out. We thought that when we were finally adults, life would be so much easier.

While being an adult is great at times and we wouldn’t necessarily want to go back to our teenage years if we had the chance, there are definitely quite a few things about adulting that we didn’t realize when we were younger. For example, you actually have to make something for dinner every single day for the rest of your life, and there’s a real struggle between time and money; if you have enough time to do whatever you want, chances are you don’t have the money to afford whatever you want and vice versa.

Reddit user berkel-is-a-madlad asked, “Adults of reddit, what is something that sucks about being an adult that most teenagers don’t realize?” As an adult, you’ll probably find yourself agreeing with most of the items on this list. You may even have a few of your own realizations to add. If you’re a teenager, try not to be too discouraged by this list. Being an adult isn’t all bad; it’s just not the way it seems when you’re younger.

1. Don’t Buy Too Much at the Grocery Store

   Reddit user OneMorePotion wrote:

   The moment you need to pay for everything and the realization that fresh food spoils faster than you ever noticed before was eye opening.

2. Aging

   Hemenucha shared:

   For me it’s watching my parents get old.As a teenager I thought they were all about keeping me restricted and controlled. Now I realize they’re just two people who never had a kid before, did the best they knew how, and f***ed up at times like all other humans on the planet. I never realized how much I needed them emotionally until I saw my father through his open heart surgery, and saw Parkinson’s take my mother’s independence. So here I am still feeling like a teenager on the inside, staring down the barrel of 50, wondering what the hell happened.

3. Fewer Friends

   Rajareth explained:

   It’s not just that it’s more difficult to make friends, but you’re also less willing to keep people in your life that don’t add value. Hit 30 and you’ll be ready to light some bridges on fire.

4. Dinner

   Reddit user MelG146 shared:

   Planning dinner every damn night.

5. Time

   GiraffeMother wrote:

   There’s never enough time for all the things you need to do. Definitely not enough time for the things you want to do.

6. Where Did the Time Go?

   TinyBig_Jar0fPickles added:

   The repetition makes you lose time. Having the same job, workout regimen, schedule in general makes days blend into one another

7. Cleaning

   Hollowman212 shared:

   You are always cleaning the kitchen

8. This Is Why We Cook

   soundecember explained:

   That ordering food is actually expensive and your parents weren’t lying to you.

9. You Can’t Really Do Whatever You Want

   irishamerican wrote:

   You can do whatever you want, but most of the time you either have commitments that prevent it, or you can’t afford it.

10. Pain

    hamhead added:

    The pain. Bodies start breaking down.

11. It’s Hard to Make Friends

    dartblaze explained:

    You’re at a time in your life when you see your friends almost every day at school. That should be cherished, because it’s vastly simpler than maintaining friendships as you enter adulthood and you don’t have that constant contact.Life as an adult is change, most of it outside of your control. People change, circumstances shift…all of that work you put into your adult friendships can vanish in an instant, and you just have to adapt and move on.

12. You Have to Do It All

    mswoodie shared:

    When something goes wrong or something unexpected happens, there’s no one else to deal with it.Plugged toilet? You gotta clear it. Car outta gas? You gotta fill it. Run out of clean undies? You gotta do laundry. From small things to massive things, there’s no one to make it go away but you.

13. You Really Can’t Warn the Younger Generation

    SmokeyFlannel wrote:

    When all the cliches that used to piss you off start making sense and meaning something, but you can’t explain it to younger people because they haven’t lived that life experience yet.

14. Why We’re So Tired

    MontiBurns shared:

    The importance and scarcity of time. Your “you time” gets seriously reduced as you get older and your other responsibilities mount up. I used to think that spending half an hour cleaning 3 times a week was the worst thing ever. Now I spend about an hour cleaning pretty much every day. Between work, maintaining a house, and raising kids, the amount of you time gets reduced to.minutes a day. Anything else you want to do means sacrificing sleep.

15. Adulting Classes Would Be Helpful

    PmMeYourHotAss explained:

    People expect you to know what you’re doing.