Have you ever heard an adult say something like this? “Nobody warned me that raising kids would be so difficult,” or “Nobody told me owning a house would be so hard.” Actually, someone probably did, and the person just wasn’t listening. Now they know, and occasionally they have a thought that is worth passing along. It used to be fashionable to give the elders a listen, at least, because they have “been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt.” And the refrigerator magnets, the drink coasters, and the keychain.
Boring and ignorable as the oldsters may be, they are well-intentioned in trying to help you escape some of the traps and avoid some of the holes they fell into. Maybe they won’t go into detail about how they know this stuff. Anyway, in the best case, they can actually throw a little light on the subject. A fellow human is hoping that you will not end up saying, “Nobody told me it would be so easy to turn into a humongous bag of flab.”
What if they aren’t there?
This world can be a miserable place, but here’s the beauty part: If suitable grownups are not available, we as people can be our own guides through the wilderness at any age. Some of our contemporaries are as wise as any elder. Everybody is wise about something, and with the BrainWeighve app, people can find peers who have met up with a certain challenge, and crushed it. A person can find workable advice from others in the same age group who have actually experienced, and are experiencing, all this mess.
Some people do find keys that take them into things, and others find keys to get themselves out of things, and they are happy to share their keys. That’s what the plan lists are for, to remind us that there are ways to cope, if only we open ourselves up to hearing them.
Say what?
We talked about Dread Lists, where typically about half of the obnoxious situations are school-related. A fair portion of them have to do with grades. As it turns out, the people with the best ideas about maintaining an acceptable academic record, are people around the same age and attending similar institutions. The antidote to a Dread is a Plan, and a lot of people your age have already shared plans that have worked for them.
It is always a plus to hear how others deal with sticky situations. Even adults share helpful information with each other in forums and other online spaces. For instance, what to do about an incoming call from an unidentified number that obviously hopes to sell you something you don’t want or need. Pick up and say, “It’s done, but there’s blood everywhere.” The caller will probably hang up.
Okay, don’t do that really. The point is, people like to help strangers, and even if your cases are not exactly parallel, with BrainWeighve you can get ideas, or at least a useful notion that coping is possible.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
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