For those of us who have spent the last six months looking for a job after graduation, I am sure that, like me, you’ve gotten used to selling yourself and your skills through your cover letter and resume. But all of this singing my praises also got me thinking about what I am not so good at, and it surprised me how many of those things are the sort of everyday tasks that today’s younger generations have been defining under umbrella terms like “life” and “adulting.” Here are five “adulting” things that I have a feeling I may not be the only one who hasn’t learned them.
1. How to drive a manual transmission (a.k.a. stick shift)
In my defense, they just don’t make cars this way anymore! Almost everything comes with an automatic transmission these days. Also, the car that I would be learning on is my dad’s 22 foot-long truck, and that behemoth is a bit intimidating.
2. How to fold a fitted sheet
My mom has shown me how to do this at least 4 separate times, and yet to this day whenever I attempt it I just end up with my hands caught in a bedsheet that resembles a Tootsie Roll. I officially give up. From now on, my fitted sheets can be found as half-folded, half-crumpled piles in my closet.
3. How to jumpstart a car
Not that I own jumper cables to begin with, but it would be nice to know how to use them in case I ever had to borrow some. Also, is anyone else a little bit concerned by how many things on this list have to do with cars?
4. How to cook something more complex than pasta
You may think I’m joking, but I have multiple current and previous housemates who can attest to the fact that all I eat are sandwiches, Safeway single-serving salads, and the occasional plate of spaghetti. I might be able to follow a more complex recipe if I tried, but let’s be real: what college student has the time to make full-blown meals on a regular basis?
5. How to parallel park
Another car thing, I know, I’m officially concerned. But this one is partially just because I grew up in a mountain town where there was no such thing as a parallel parking spot, so I didn’t have to learn how to do it for my license test. And this isn’t saying much anyway, because anyone who has ridden in the car with me knows that I can barely manage parking in a regular parking spot.
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