Life teaches us many lessons that we often take for granted unless they happen to us personally. Being a kid with no responsibilities is the best feeling ever; that period is sacred in everyone’s life, and that’s when you usually have full trust in your parents and never have to worry about any responsibilities at all.
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However, life is so unexpected that at any moment, you could lose that comfort blanket and be completely on your own. When things like this happen, that’s when you are automatically forced to grow up, fast. These people found themselves in the same position and were kind enough to share their experiences.
1. Pregnancy
“When my girlfriend told me she was pregnant, I was in college, and I went from planning where I was going to party the next weekend to graduating and getting a job in an instant.”
2. The death of a loved one
“My mom’s death when I was 17.”
3. Car Crash
“When both my parents died in a car crash when I was 20.”
4. Man, do I feel older than I should.
“My bipolar disorder started to fully manifest when I was a sophomore in college. I ended up making a lot of mistakes, ruining many friendships, and dropping out of school. It’s taken five years for me to pick up the pieces of my fractured life. I’m stable, I have a well-paying job, but man, do I feel older than I should.”
5. I realized that life is a lot tougher than I thought.
“I realized my dad wasn’t unbreakable when I watched him bury our dog.That day, I watched the strongest man I had ever known collapse on his knees, sobbing. And I realized that life is a lot tougher than I thought.EDIT: I’m glad some of you have been able to share your stories. I hope it has been cathartic. Here’s to all the good doggos in our lives.”
6. Held at gunpoint
“Getting a gun held to my head while delivering pizzas makes you appreciate the little things.”
7. I grew up that night.
“I had a crush on an older guy since sixth grade. He invited me over to his place sophomore year. I went, we watched some movies, and started making out. I’m a pretty straightforward type of gal, and I am quite confident. We started making out, and all was fine, but he asked me to take my shirt off, and I didn’t want to. Slowly, he kept making me feel bad about it, and he kept pushing things further while I was adamant about not going any further. I kept saying no but didn’t leave. I wasn’t enjoying this, as it felt like I was fighting to keep my innocence the entire time. He started physically overpowering me, getting his hand in my pants, and fingering me aggressively. I’d had more than enough, and I wasn’t going to let myself get overpowered any more than I already had. I told him that if he didn’t quit right now, I would tell his mother about this. She is a fantastic lady whom I have known for a few years now. He stopped but got all defensive, as if he hadn’t done anything wrong. I left.I grew up that night. I can’t quite describe how I changed, but something inside me snapped; I became far more adult-like with everything after that. I think my inner mother came out of her shell before she gave birth to any kids.”
8. I figured my sh*t out fast.
“Getting my fiancé at the time pregnant with my son when we were 18. I was a total screw-up in school, and after school, I was a drug addict; I didn’t really have any drive. Then, once I knew I had another human to take care of, I figured my shit out fast. It took me a while to shake the drug habit fully, but I’ve been completely clean now for almost a year. I’d be dead if it weren’t for my kids (I also had a daughter not long after I had my son).”
9. I don’t take their bullsh*t.
“The day of my dad’s third wedding.I won’t go into too many details, but my dad married a woman he met on the internet and uprooted our entire lives; we immigrated to the States and everything. During the time they were dating, she seemed nice enough, and I was pretty excited to get a mom. Literally, the second the ring was on her finger, she started treating me poorly. She blamed me (an 11-year-old kid) for leaving her purse at the venue when she’d never even mentioned I should look after it. It was still there when we got back, but the damage was done. I knew she wasn’t going to be my mommy, but I still wanted her and my dad to be happy. Spoilers: they weren’t. It was a long eight years of her treating me like crap and me trying to deal with it.It worked out okay, I suppose. I’m 26 now, and while I always try to be kind to people, I don’t take their bullshit.”
10. That’s a lot for a teenager to take in and process.
“Being diagnosed as a diabetic at 14. First, I almost died from diabetic ketoacidosis (which I can assure you is extremely unpleasant), and then I spent five days in the hospital getting a crash course on everything I needed to do to keep myself alive from then on.Counting carbs, checking blood sugar, determining the correct amount of insulin to give myself, how to treat lows, how to treat highs, and what to do if I’m spilling ketones.That’s a lot for a teenager to take in and process.”
11. I finally had enough.
“When I found out that I might have leukemia, I took a hard look at my relationship with my fiancé. He was not supportive of me at all. That’s what finally made me realize that he wasn’t going to change into the person I needed him to be. He had been prioritizing himself the whole time we were together, and I finally had enough.”
12. I had to file a report.
“In 2015, my dad kicked me out of my own house so he could live there with his new, difficult wife.I had to file a report, get a lawyer, and have him forcibly removed from my house. Before that, he emptied the place, taking everything but my old bed. So there I was, with no job, a bunch of furniture to buy, bills to pay, and a lawyer to finish paying. That moment was definitely a turning point in my life.”
13. Parents don’t always have it together as they seem.
“My father lost his job due to his alcoholism, and then about a month later, my mother tried to take her own life by taking as many pills as possible. I was 14 at the time, and for a while, I felt like I was taking care of them instead of myself. I put my head down and told myself that I was going to do my best in school, do whatever I could at home, and then get as far away as possible. The first two years were particularly difficult, but thankfully I had a set of friends that kept me happy and sane. I learned to silo my life, which is still something I’m working on, but it made me realize a lot about adults and that parents don’t always have it together as they seem.”
14. Academic Failure
“Miserable grades my first semester of college.That never happened in high school, and I had to change my habits quickly.”
15. That matured me up really quick.
“Realizing in college how little money my parents really had and that I had to step in big time—that matured me up really quickly. I went from barely working and partying to handling 20-30 hour work weeks bartending and school.”
