There are some moments in my life when I think to myself, This is ridiculous. Many of these moments stem from realizations that I don't know sh*t. Sh*t that I'm supposed to know as a semi-adult living in the glamorous United States of America, but apparently, I don't. And I'm allegedly "educated."
College students or not, there's certain information we should all have access to and take the advantage to gain. Here are a few classes that would certainly do society some good. Hint: not differential equations.
Laundry 101
For some, laundry has been a weekly chore since we could first carry a Tide bottle. For others, away at college dorms is where we first attempted laundry. Regardless, how many of us actually know the cutoff for a “medium” load and a “large” load? TBH, when was the last time we meticulously followed the instructions and measured the detergent/softener to the appropriate line in the cap? Can we even see the thin indents that they call lines at all? We could all use a refresher on how to properly separate colors, disinfect our intimates, fold for space efficiency and just plain make our clothes smell damn good fresh.
Fabric Care
Along the lines of clothing: since it’s mandatory for us to wear it, we may as well learn how to actually take care of it. Those tags aren’t just there to irritate the sh*t out of us; there are some helpful guidelines on there that have the best intentions of making the most out of our purchase. But what are those little symbols anyway? Where are we supposed to “lay flat to dry?” And does “hand wash only” include soap and scrubbing? Especially for those fancier wardrobe investments, some deciphering wouldn’t hurt at all. Then maybe we won’t constantly deal with shrinking, lint, mysterious rips and lackluster color.
Banks, Credit, and Mortgage
For something that comprises a substantial chunk, if not all, of our economy, we seem to know nothing. I personally have never had the opportunity to get a detailed explanation about — let alone a basic introduction to — the way banks play a role in the daily financial lives of every consumer. How are we supposed to build up credit and earn that great FICO score? What even IS a FICO score? The frustrating thing is, even if we don’t want to learn about the banking system, there’s no way we could open a credit card, rent an apartment, lease a car, or buy a house, among other things. Those things are the American Dream right there. Unless, of course, we just have our mommies figure that out for us. Or pay to hire a financial adviser. Or YOLO it and plunge into debt.
Taxes and Accounting
Alright, so we have accountants to take care of these tedious (integral) parts of adulting. But it wouldn’t kill us to know how to fill out a tax document by ourselves, or know what all those alien terms even mean. It wouldn’t kill us because maybe it would save us a couple of hundred or thousand from having to hire an accountant and/or learning which options give better returns. And before we all complain about how high the taxes are, or compromise on how much more tax we’re willing to pay, we should understand where exactly these taxes are going — straight from the source itself, our tax statements, not from biased media.
Political Voting Process
We may not all be able to vote, but it’s still helpful to know how we end up with the leaders we have. Public school U.S. history classes may have grazed over this, not giving it the attention it deserves. Maybe some of us don’t vote because we don’t know exactly how it works so we don’t understand our role in the system. Maybe it’s because some of us don’t trust the system after hearing about its corruption. But before we jump to conclusions, why don’t we examine the workings of voting in our country and then make conclusions of our own (not of someone else’s like the media)?
Constitution and Laws
We have the right to know our rights, and we should have the opportunity to focus on these rights even if we aren’t law students. Wouldn’t it be nice to know more about what’s allowed and not allowed in everyday life? We may know the general rules and regulations of this country, but there’s always the fine print that could be more than useful when you find yourself stopped, interrogated, or behind bars. We do get lawyers in court, but knowing a little beforehand could make all the difference. Ignorance on our part leads to suspicion of enforcement officers and maltreatment that could be prevented.
Contraception and Pregnancy
A couple months in health class isn’t enough to stress the consequences of our favorite pastime. We tend to rush over this topic because people feel uncomfortable discussing it. As for that excuse: if you can’t discuss it, then you probably shouldn’t do it. Sex wasn’t “invented” by some civilization years ago for our enjoyment; it has a biological purpose. But if we’re not doing it for the continuation of our species — like 99 percent of the time — we have to know how to do it right. We should openly discuss the facts, not just rely on rumors, about what works and what doesn’t. And then what happens when it doesn’t work — the whole nine months and beyond.
Now, if only a dictator would mandate us all to take these classes.
