Live GR: All About Adulting, 7th of October, 7:30pm AEST

What's something you wish they taught you about 'adult life' in school?/Is there something you wished people would talk more about when it comes to being an 'adult'?
- How to manage finances
- Relationship skills
- Long-term career options
- Different pathways after school
- Mental health and where to access support

- The Centrelink system
- Support for carers... The medical system has left a lot of families affected by FND (which my sister has) in the cold. Often people are discharged from hospital with no idea what the diagnosis means or where to have treatment. I think I learned about the diagnosis by looking it up rather than having it explained by a doctor. I read one story where someone's daughter was discharged from hospital unable to walk, told to sleep on a mattress on the floor and go to the toilet in a bucket with absolutely no follow-up. I've had to find a lot of supports for carers and people who can treat her myself.

@WheresMySquishy yeah, I wish there was more emphasis put on these issues, and maybe just a little bit less on things like studying Shakespeare  I especially agree with the Centrelink system, I never heard about it during school, and it's a challenge to work with.

And I'm sorry you had to go through that. The medical system should be a lot more catering to the needs of the population, and doctors should not be dismissive of their patients at all 

Is there something you wished people would talk more about when it comes to being an 'adult'?

That it's okay not to know something, and that you don't have to figure out everything out by yourself, that's not what being an adult is 🙂 pretty much what everyone's been saying tonight pretty much

Also that it's super worth asking for help (of any kind) when you need it, not waiting until you think it's absolutely necessary bc things can be resolved/improved earlier, idk if that makes sense

Here we go- Next question!

What's something you wish they taught you about 'adult life' in school? Is there something you wished people would talk more about when it comes to being an 'adult'?

What's something you wish they taught you about 'adult life' in school? Is there something you wished people would talk more about when it comes to being an 'adult'?

I wish school taught us more about the difficulties of finding jobs! I remember my high school had a person come over and they taught us effective interviewing techniques - basically the skills needed during an interview. It was handy, although I feel like the person could've touched on how to gain experience for the job you want. It's very difficult to gain many jobs since they require that you have experience, however you can only gain experience at work or through volunteering. This was something I discovered on my own, and I really wish I learnt this sooner because I definitely would've volunteered during high school to get that experience.

I also regret not volunteering in high school @featuringme. 😞

@ecla34  I agree that it's often best to sort things out the earlier the better. One of the things I have learned is that things can take a while to get approved (for example financial supports, supports for people with disabilities, healthcare or aged care). With my grandma, my family waited so long to enter her into the aged care system and she ended up not even using home care at all by the time it was finally approved despite her being marked as high priority. I know people who have been on waiting lists for even longer.

Lucky last question!

Were your expectations about becoming a 'grown up' accurate?

Were your expectations about becoming a 'grown up' accurate?

Not entirely, I thought looking for work, going to uni and being an independent human being would be tons of fun. Now that I am at that stage in my life, I wish I could tell mini-me how stressful it can be But that's okay, I still love and feel privileged to have the freedoms and opportunities I have right now!

Were your expectations about becoming a 'grown up' accurate?
I don't think so. I didn't expect to become so involved in caring for my family members and that I would have to find a lot of supports myself. My parents didn't think ahead and plan certain things in advance, especially with my grandma. I also thought that I would have a master's degree by now. I didn't know that a few years of experience is usually required before doing a master's degree in my field. I also didn't realise that there were other alternatives to going to university, or that studying could be flexible.
Another thing I didn't have much awareness of is my own city. I didn't have a sense of direction at all when I was in high school. People would tell me about neighbouring suburbs and I would say, 'Where's that?'. I didn't realise our city was so big.

Were your expectations about becoming a 'grown up' accurate?

Hmm kind of?
I guess I was given the responsibility but also joys of parenthood a whole lot sooner than I ever imagined but it’s been epic even if I did have to tell a nearly 3 year to please stop playing the flamingo game in his bed and go to sleep for the 11th time, but yeah, good times, and we’ll see what the next part of the journey brings, another one on its way!

Hahaha the flamingo game? @Saltwaterdreamtime 

It's just about time to wrap up, thank you so much everyone! This was such an awesome chat tonight! It was really interesting to hear about different experiences and perceptions of growing up. I feel more aware of topics that don't get talked about as much! I hope you all enjoyed chatting 😄

Thank you everyone who contributed (sorry if I miss anyone!) @featuringme @WheresMySquishy @ecla34  @Saltwaterdreamtime  @Liliann @sunnygirl606 

Here is a list of the questions we covered! Everyone is welcome to answer these in their own time if they missed out on the chat tonight!

 

Thanks so much for the chat guys, was an honour to hear your insights into adult life! Hope everyone learnt something through this chat, and I look forward to the next GR 

This has been such an awesome and entertaining chat! I've loved reading everyone's answers.
Thank you all! 🙂

Have a great night! 🙂

Were your expectations about becoming a 'grown up' accurate?

Nup! no one knows what they're doing 😛 and that's okay 😄 

@ecla34  Hahaha I love that!

I wish there was a manual for carers, like a 'Caring for Dummies' or 'Caring 101' like there are for new parents. It could have things like communication skills, manual handling techniques, where to access supports, etc. I've trialled a course for carers and given feedback on it so hopefully more things like this will be available in the future.

Hahaha reminds me of this book I saw the other day while trying to find gifts @Saltwaterdreamtime