We attend grade school from the age of 5 to the age of 18, give or take a few months yet we still graduate and feel like we know absolutely nothing about the real world. Then there is college that some of us choose to attend where we learn more school things but not many real world topics unless they pertain to your major. Through experience, we 20 somethings are learning how to somehow get through life teaching ourselves what school forgot to teach us.

1. How to file an insurance claim

Whether someone hit your car or you hit them, your first car accident can be scary. Without knowing the proper procedures and how to deal with the situation, it can cause a lot of unnecessary stress. It is not at all a complicated process, what makes it difficult is having no idea what to do or where to start that makes it frightening.

2. How to manage credit cards and why they are important

This is so important for adultiung because credit score is everything. Your credit score decides if you are able to get a loan for things such as school, house, or car, and it also determines how much money you can borrow at a time from either a loan or credit card. They may teach you in school about how it is important to be a smart borrower and to only take out what you can pay back, but what they do not teach you is how much time it takes to build up a great score. It is impossible for someone to have a perfect credit score even if they have never missed a payment and have not borrowed very much money if they have credit history of less than 4 or 5 years. That is the way the score system works.

3. How to live by yourself

Or maybe not by yourself but more so without mom and dad. It is a lot harder than a person may think it is. Being a college student and having to be away from my family for eight months out of the year this struggle is so real for me. Instead of coming home from work and mom having dinner ready, you have to come home from work or class when you are already exhausted and make it yourself. Then you have to find time to do homework and study along with that. Or when you have a flat tire and would normally call dad to come help you out, it is no longer possible when he is three hours away. Let's not forget laundry either. If you are washing all colors together make sure the water is cold so your white shirt isn't suddenly light blue. Learn from me.

4. How to maintain a balanced life

How to balance your life is something that I learned in college, but not from any classes I have ever taken. With school, work, friends, and other activities, it is hard to give all groups the attention they deserve. However, it is completely necessary to find the balance or one may go insane. Spending too much time on school work can leave you feeling drained but on the other hand too much socializing can cause grades or job performance to suffer.

5. Networking

In grade school students are taught to get good grades and somehow be involved with the community, either sports or volunteering, and they should be fine when it comes to attending their dream school. In college that is not the case: it is now who you know not what you do. When it comes to internships, job opportunities, or even reference letters who you know is everything. Even if you are just as qualified as your opponent, if they have some sort of social connection with the person doing the hiring, they are going to get selected not you. College, through experience, teaches us the importance of going out, talking to people, and making yourself known.