I have taken dozens of biology, chemistry, psychology courses; labs revealing bacteria's secrets, attended lectures discussing breakthroughs in genetics, neuroscience, cancer research, you name it. I could explain the symbiotic relationship of humans and their gut microbiota, or the underlying mechanisms of the myotatic (stretch) reflex.
But I can't properly operate a stove and don't have a clue how to fill out taxes. While my cooking deficiencies are likely a personal problem I should have conquered before my early twenties, my lack of knowledge for taxes I think is a more widespread and universal issue.
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My Bachelor's will undoubtedly provide a great resume builder and a strong foundation of pertinent scientific knowledge, but I'm afraid it may not expand beyond just that. As helpful as knowing compositions of various chemical compounds may be for daily life, I'm afraid they don't help me change my car's oil or plunge a toilet.
There are an alarming number of general skills and pieces of knowledge I seem to have missed along the way. Aside from the previously mentioned gaps, I know nothing about taking out a mortgage or buying a house (which I am no where close to), or anything related to fixing broken items (in particular my car). Investments and banking might as well be foreign languages and let's just say I learned what carbon monoxide alarms were for the hard way.
Thus far, I've survived off a combination of emergency calls to Mom and Dad, a very attentive and helpful landlord, and the pooled knowledge of my three also fairly-often-confused-by-life's-big-questions-for-small-problems roommates. Maybe it's because graduation is quickly approaching, or there's been a more concentrated than often series of failed attempts at adulting daunting my recent experiences, but it's become all too apparent that there are a HUGE amount of adult-related things I don't know how to approach and a HUGE number of adult skills I never developed.
And I'm not alone in this. At least to some extent. Which is a problem I think could easily be solved; in our college curriculum we have a decent set of general education courses we must complete prior to receiving our diploma. As much as three religion classes has contributed to my personal growth, I think exchanging one for a "how to do life" or "adulting" class would have been extremely beneficial.
Imagine the possibilities- a course that teaches you essential ingredients for life, such as how to make a healthy dinner or what to do if your car is smoking and/or on fire. Sharing tips on how to unclog a drain or how to properly fill out a W-9 without randomly throwing 1s to make the page look less blank. Nothing too intensive, but a general overview on what's awaiting when you finally embark upon the world without university resources and parents to help along the way.
In the meantime,w hile the classes continue to not exist, I'll continue to learn things through my failed attempts at adulting, hoping one day it will all make sense.
