The older I get, and the more real-life experiences I have, the more I realize how completely unprepared I was for a lot of things. Here are 10 things I didn't learn in high school that I wish I did.
1. How to change a flat tire
Sure, many times young adults learn this skill from their parents, but if you don't get this opportunity you're out of luck and probably stranded on the side of the road somewhere.
2. How to pay taxes
You would think this would be something in the curriculum considering everyone has to pay taxes and it's literally illegal not to. I'm surprised something this crucial was never taught in schools.
3. Credit cards and debt
Sure there is a lesson teaching us the difference between a debit card and a credit card, and a strong warning to "be careful" when it comes to credit cards, but we aren't given any practice or tips to avoid getting into trouble. We are just set loose with a piece of plastic the size of our pocket that has the capability of destroying our financial life. Perhaps this is why so many people fall into debt.
4. How to take a loan out from the bank
Okay this one may be easy but I think it is something that should still be taught in school. Pretty much everyone will end up taking a loan out in their life, so why isn't there any kind of teaching on the subject?
5. Insurance
I don't know about you but I would say that having insurance on my future house and car would be pretty important. What insurance agency should I go through? What's the best deal for me? Can I even afford it?
6. Building credit
I see those commercials about having a good credit score all of the time but I don't actually know how to build credit. Teaching us ways to start of with good credit and to continue with it is so important.
7. Self defense
I am honestly surprised that we never had a self defense unit in our gym class. We learned how to run back and forth in a set period of time and how to hit a ball over a net several different ways, but we never learned basic tricks that could potentially save our lives.
8. Mental health
This is a HUGE one. I feel like mental health is something they tip toe around in school and you don't really talk about until college. Mental health is just as important if not more important than physical health. I wish that mental health would have been a more open topic in school. I feel like it would have helped a lot of people out in the future and made it easier for people who were struggling to seek help.
9. Interviewing
We are so unprepared when it comes to interviewing for a job. We are told to dress nice, smile and give a strong handshake but that is pretty much it. There really needs to be more practice with interviewing because you could be extremely qualified for a position but not know how to interview and not get a job solely because of this.
10. How to do laundry
Many people have done laundry since high school or even middle school but it continues to surprise me how many people don't know how to do their laundry when they get to college. Clean clothes and hygiene are very important!
We did learn some very important things in school that will benefit us in the future but it amazes me how much we don't ever talk about. It seems like we focus more on seemingly pointless lessons instead of the lessons that will make us productive members of society after school.
