You'll figure it out...eventually.

          Why do terminally ill patients have to worry about hospital bills? Why do homeless and poor folks still die on the streets because they are not educated on how to get healthcare/free services are not offered? Why is it so overwhelming to try to understand this whole system as a young adult? I had perfect grades in consumer economics, but that did me ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD in developing a working knowledge of our healthcare system. I'm freshly out of my childhood home, I have lived off of medicaid and food-stamps my entire life, and i'm trying as hard as I can to break out of the cycle of poverty my entire hometown is stuck in. I'm admittedly under-educated in adulting skills, but some things are almost impossible to learn from just "googling it". Sometimes you need mentors and teachers to show you how to do things, and if you don't have those resources, how do you ever learn?

          I have more questions than answers and I desperately need to be able to just suck it up and figure it out. I just have one problem... I have never had to just "figure it out" before. I'm barely an adult, fresh out of high school, and I am absolutely clueless. I never learned how to build credit, or what that even is until I read about it in my consumer economics course. I know what "Term-life insurance" is, and in theory, I could calculate the rate at which Martha's insurance would go up after each term ended and graph it as an exponential value in comparison to her sister Terri's, but I don't know where to even begin in getting my own policy. I haven't learned how to do much in this short period that I've been considered an adult by the federal government, but I have picked up on these essential rules:

Rule #1: Accept that you have no idea what you're doing, but pretend that you do. (unless you really need help; then ask google first, and as a last resort, call your bank hotline to reset your security questions...again.)

Rule #2: Life is a series of tests and paperwork. It doesn't end with high school or college; you ALWAYS have paperwork.

Rule #3: Take it one step at a time. No one can eat the world in one bite. Face one crisis at a time. Take on the terror that comes with waiting at the DMV for hours one day, and deal with FASFA the next.

Rule #4: There are always rules. Whether it's from your parents, your job, your school, or the government; there will always be rules. Some rules are stupid and set up to feed your superiors whims(like dress codes that require women to cover their shoulders in the summer... it's sadistic.), but most are practical and there for your safety.(Like driving at the speed limit, or paying taxes.)

Rule #5: Suck it up and ask for help. This goes against rule number 1, but for good reason. If you don't have resources, you shouldn't feel guilty to ask the bank clerk how exactly your bank account works. It isn't your fault that you didn't have access to that information as a child, but it is your responsibility now to seek out the gaps in your life education and fill them with accurate information.

          If you know someone who needs to hear this message, or if you are a struggling young person as well and this article is ...#sorelatable (sorry, I had to), give it a share and spread the love! Subscribe to my blog and head over to the "videos" tab to follow me on my journey to adulthood. Maybe I'll figure it out...eventually.