i ask because i want to know if i'm not alone. i'm a senior in high school, i don't have my license, driving is hard for me, i've never really had an official job; unlike everyone else my age it seems. i'll be a legal adult in six months and i don't understand finances and whatnot although i try....it's like how i was with chemistry, i tried so hard to learn it but it was like i didn't have the mental capacity to grasp such concepts while everyone else could...yet a lot of my peers have checking accounts and other **** i don't even know the definition of. i feel like such a dumbass in economics class, everyone else seems to know so much about the adult world and i know nothing even though i should be going into it soon.

well that's enough bitching on my part, does anyone else feel like their peers are ahead of them in life?

Well, you're not the only one that's for sure. I didn't even get a checking account until four months after I had turned 18 (December of 2003). I had an okay understanding of finances and such, being I took an accounting class in high school and a life-type class (it was called Life, Love and Money). Until sometime last year, I had never ever been able to use an ATM because I lost my PIN for it and had to have my PIN reset. Yeah, the first time I used an ATM was at 20... Makes me feel pretty damn good. :p (not)

I will tell you this now -- remember this, because you will encounter this frequently. This is something I finally figured out after I turned 20. Life is a learning process... You are always learning new things all the time. You WILL be able to learn the important adult stuff in time. Just give it time. It took me about six months and a number of accidental bounced checks before I finally learned how to correctly balance my checkbook, and now I'm anal about doing so.

I'm 21 and will never have my driver's license, due to my vision problems. So that makes things harder for me, when I live in such a rural state with a crappy public transportation system. But I just make do, and fortunately I'm right outside of downtown so it's not very difficult for me to just trot into town on foot. :)

I will also tell you this now -- you will mature even more between the time you turn 18, to the time you turn 21. You'll definitely notice it after you turn 21.

I will be truthful here -- I feel a little freaked out every time Mary (Crimson and Clover) posts here. She is 10 days younger than me in age. She's already married, has one child with another on the way, and she and her husband just brought a house. :faint: And we are both freaking TWENTY-ONE years old. Meanwhile, here I am... Not married, no children, and I'm definitely not buying a house anytime in the near future. Yikes.

Anyway, I hope this at least made you feel a little better. I know there are a lot of other people who feel the same way themselves.

Well, you're not the only one that's for sure. I didn't even get a checking account until four months after I had turned 18 (December of 2003). I had an okay understanding of finances and such, being I took an accounting class in high school and a life-type class (it was called Life, Love and Money). Until sometime last year, I had never ever been able to use an ATM because I lost my PIN for it and had to have my PIN reset. Yeah, the first time I used an ATM was at 20... Makes me feel pretty damn good. :p (not)

I will tell you this now -- remember this, because you will encounter this frequently. This is something I finally figured out after I turned 20. Life is a learning process... You are always learning new things all the time. You WILL be able to learn the important adult stuff in time. Just give it time. It took me about six months and a number of accidental bounced checks before I finally learned how to correctly balance my checkbook, and now I'm anal about doing so.

I'm 21 and will never have my driver's license, due to my vision problems. So that makes things harder for me, when I live in such a rural state with a crappy public transportation system. But I just make do, and fortunately I'm right outside of downtown so it's not very difficult for me to just trot into town on foot. :)

I will also tell you this now -- you will mature even more between the time you turn 18, to the time you turn 21. You'll definitely notice it after you turn 21.

I will be truthful here -- I feel a little freaked out every time Mary (Crimson and Clover) posts here. She is 10 days younger than me in age. She's already married, has one child with another on the way, and she and her husband just brought a house. :faint: And we are both freaking TWENTY-ONE years old. Meanwhile, here I am... Not married, no children, and I'm definitely not buying a house anytime in the near future. Yikes.

Anyway, I hope this at least made you feel a little better. I know there are a lot of other people who feel the same way themselves.



Well I'm your age too, and I don't feel too far behind really. I'm with a great man, but I'm not ready for marriage. I sure as hell am not ready for a kid, let alone two. The only part that I feel behind on is that I live with my parents while going to school. I'm at a trade school, so it's school, but they don't have a dorm. So I've never really been out on my own. Other than that, life is good. :)

I'm the exact same way you are, Allison. I was 19 when I got my driver's license (I had never even taken a driver's ed. course in high school either...I learned through instruction from my Grandma and a few outside driving courses) because I was so afraid of driving. I didn't learn how to use an ATM until I was 22/23 years old!

I'm now 24 years old and still stuck in community college--I'm really in a rut right now. Kids my age have already graduated and are starting their careers (or starting families). Sometimes I feel down on myself because of it, but other times I know I am a smart person and I just realize it's taking me longer than most (it also doesn't help that I went to college part-time for the first few years because of my lack of transportation). My best friend is a year older than me and is in the same boat, so I don't feel so alone.

Well, you're not the only one that's for sure. I didn't even get a checking account until four months after I had turned 18 (December of 2003). I had an okay understanding of finances and such, being I took an accounting class in high school and a life-type class (it was called Life, Love and Money). Until sometime last year, I had never ever been able to use an ATM because I lost my PIN for it and had to have my PIN reset. Yeah, the first time I used an ATM was at 20... Makes me feel pretty damn good. :p (not)

I will tell you this now -- remember this, because you will encounter this frequently. This is something I finally figured out after I turned 20. Life is a learning process... You are always learning new things all the time. You WILL be able to learn the important adult stuff in time. Just give it time. It took me about six months and a number of accidental bounced checks before I finally learned how to correctly balance my checkbook, and now I'm anal about doing so.

I'm 21 and will never have my driver's license, due to my vision problems. So that makes things harder for me, when I live in such a rural state with a crappy public transportation system. But I just make do, and fortunately I'm right outside of downtown so it's not very difficult for me to just trot into town on foot. :)

I will also tell you this now -- you will mature even more between the time you turn 18, to the time you turn 21. You'll definitely notice it after you turn 21.

I will be truthful here -- I feel a little freaked out every time Mary (Crimson and Clover) posts here. She is 10 days younger than me in age. She's already married, has one child with another on the way, and she and her husband just brought a house. :faint: And we are both freaking TWENTY-ONE years old. Meanwhile, here I am... Not married, no children, and I'm definitely not buying a house anytime in the near future. Yikes.

Anyway, I hope this at least made you feel a little better. I know there are a lot of other people who feel the same way themselves.

don't feel bad. i'm also 21 and i have no car, no liscense and i live with my sister babysitting her two kids. my boyfriend and the love of my life are seperated right now and didn't even get to celibrate our first christmas together.

i was a real dope in school and only made it to the 9th grade. yes, i feel like all my peers are doing better in life then me because most of the kids i wen't to school with have cars, kids and a morgage. you're not alone in this.

i ask because i want to know if i'm not alone. i'm a senior in high school, i don't have my license, driving is hard for me, i've never really had an official job; unlike everyone else my age it seems. i'll be a legal adult in six months and i don't understand finances and whatnot although i try....it's like how i was with chemistry, i tried so hard to learn it but it was like i didn't have the mental capacity to grasp such concepts while everyone else could...yet a lot of my peers have checking accounts and other **** i don't even know the definition of. i feel like such a dumbass in economics class, everyone else seems to know so much about the adult world and i know nothing even though i should be going into it soon.

well that's enough bitching on my part, does anyone else feel like their peers are ahead of them in life?

On Jan 17, I'll be 22. I didn't have an official job until the beginning of December. Before that I was just a volunteer. I still don't have my license. I'm baffled by finances, can't even balance a checkbook. Simple concepts do tend to escape me.

No one is ever alone. Driving is harder than it looks.

At age 30 I always saw myself having a nice job, a home, a wife and perhaps a kid. However, none of this has happned yet. :(

On Jan 17, I'll be 22. I didn't have an official job until the beginning of December. Before that I was just a volunteer. I still don't have my license. I'm baffled by finances, can't even balance a checkbook. Simple concepts do tend to escape me.

No one is ever alone. Driving is harder than it looks.
It freaks me out a little when I realize that us '85ers are turning 22 in the new year. I still have a while yet before I turn 22 (seven and a half months), but still. This will be the first year in a long time that it isn't a major milestone birthday (18, 20 and 21).

Anyway, I just want you to know that balancing a checkbook is actually pretty simple -- it looks hard, but it's not. I understand how it can be scary trying to balance a checkbook. I need to be able to know how to balance my checkbook, being I pay bills and such. Being an adult sucks sometimes. :| I remember when I was in high school, I always gave kids weird looks if I saw that they were something like 14 or 15 years old and already had their own checking account and walked around with checkbooks and such at school. O.o I'm just thankful there were no ATMs at my high school, because that would have made me feel even more far behind.

Just don't get yourself down. We all learn at our own pace. There are other people out there who are jealous of what we've already accomplished... They could even be the same people we're jealous of! Interesting how that works.

I'm the same way with financial stuff. I have a checking account, but my mom came with me to get it because I don't understand anything. Anytime my dad brings up loans or anything for college, I have a breakdown because I don't know what any of it means. I don't understand taxes or any of that mumbo jumbo and my parents get really frustrated with me but no one has ever taken the time to explain it to me.

i ask because i want to know if i'm not alone. i'm a senior in high school, i don't have my license, driving is hard for me, i've never really had an official job; unlike everyone else my age it seems. i'll be a legal adult in six months and i don't understand finances and whatnot although i try....it's like how i was with chemistry, i tried so hard to learn it but it was like i didn't have the mental capacity to grasp such concepts while everyone else could...yet a lot of my peers have checking accounts and other **** i don't even know the definition of. i feel like such a dumbass in economics class, everyone else seems to know so much about the adult world and i know nothing even though i should be going into it soon.

well that's enough bitching on my part, does anyone else feel like their peers are ahead of them in life?
Oh God, that made me feel so much better. I feel the same damn way. I refuse to drive, I hate it. Everyone thinks I'm weird, my own damn sister makes fun of me for it. I feel like a piece of ****. I had a job for one day but I had a panic attack the night before my second day and refused to go. I've never had a boyfriend, kissed, or even held hands with a damn guy and I'll be 18 in about 4 months. I don't know **** about bills or credit cards or checks either. I'm so lost. You are NOT alone.

I feel behind sometimes, I haven't learned to drive yet. Everybody has their own pace and sometimes you just have to move along with it. Granted, you do have to push yourself a bit at times to learn some things.

You're not alone, sarah. I hate driving, too. However, that's for different reasons...>.>

No kidding. I don't have my driver's license yet either and I'm already 18...my little brother is gonna get his soon and some of my younger cousins have theirs already too. I also haven't been on any dates yet and I haven't been to like any parties or clubs yet and stuff. Maybe I'm just an anti-social person, I don't know. But yeah, I know what you mean. :(

I've ALWAYS felt like that. I'm 20 and still don't have my license, or even want it at this point. I failed my written test twice. With the prices of gas and everything these days, taking cabs and busses is probably cheaper anyway.

I've ALWAYS felt like that. I'm 20 and still don't have my license, or even want it at this point. I failed my written test twice. With the prices of gas and everything these days, taking cabs and busses is probably cheaper anyway.
I agree. I honestly don't mind taking public transportation, but they don't take you everywhere you wanna go. That's why I think having a license to drive a car would be nice.

I'm sorry to hear that you guys feel behind in your lives, the best way to deal with that is to make it a goal to move forward. ANd don't dwell on the past just try to make yourself better. Do things to help you go forward with your lives. Without my drivers licence i'd be completely lost, I love having the freedom to go where I want to, and not have to count on others to take me places it makes you feel very independent.

I agree. I honestly don't mind taking public transportation, but they don't take you everywhere you wanna go. That's why I think having a license to drive a car would be nice.
True dat. That's why I need to live near NYC. You can go ANYWHERE there with public transportation, or on foot. Public transportation in the New England states is WAAAAAAAAY better than around here, and that's a fact. They actually discontinued Greyhound bus services here about three years ago. :mad:

Well I love driving. Where I live we don't have public transportation. Actually if I remember right, we're the largest city without public transportation.

I definitely can relate. I didnt get my license until just before i turned 18 and I still dont really like to drive. :( I'm just a nervous driver, I'll do it to get from place to place, but I won't enjoy it.

I didnt have a real job until I was 18 either (excluding camp jobs).
I'm 21 now and I feel like I've caught up in that area, except I still don't have a clue what I want to do after college!!

I feel you 100%, I don't have my lisence either, just my permit. I also dont participate in any school activites so I feel like I'm not really apart of it that much and I don't have as many friends as many other people do. I am also failing English miserably!!! My english teacher sucks butt because 17 people in that class have F's, 4 D's and only 1 C. I also feel with my school life that I will never get into any universities and end up going to community college. :( Nothing wrong with that but my sister got into a university and I know if I don't she'll hold it against me and always say "I told you so".
I'm glad I have my Guidance Counselor Ms. Watson who rocks so much to help me with anything I need in school-life.

i read all the responses, and thanks. it's good to know i'm not alone and i made some people feel better.

Yes and no. Mostly yes. As far as all the financial stuff is concerned, I've had a checking account since HS and got a credit card right after HS. I always knew more about the adult world than most of my friends, who were afraid to even drive out of our little burb. But I think that's just because I'm a shy only child who spent/spends most of her time with her parents and paying attention to what they did/do.

On the other hand, I still live at home at 27 (which I don't mind, but to people it looks like I'm a baby), I've never had a full time job (it's an anxiety thing you wouldn't understand, so can it), never owned a car, paid rent, etc. I still feel like I'm 17. A lot of it is my mental state, but I think I'm just a loser.

Don't worry Sarah...you sound more mature than you're giving yourself credit for.