10 Things We Wish Someone Taught Us Way Earlier In Life
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Adulthood comes with way too much assumed knowledge.
How do you cook rice without burning the bottom? How do you “do stocks”? There are so many Important Life Things™ that are easily missed along the way. And, when they start stacking up, it can very quickly feel like you have no idea what you’re doing.
Thankfully there are some places that give you the tools you need to make it out there. Edith Cowan University, for instance, makes sure every student is world ready through plenty of practical skills and knowledge so you graduate ready to hit the ground running.
We could all learn a thing or two from that approach. So we’ve sketched out a bit of a general roadmap: the top 10 things we wish we had learned way earlier in life.
1. What to do with money
Even just a basic idea of how to approach budgeting would be good to know before you start blowing all your income on clothes, drinks, cabs, and UberEats.
Image: Victor Cayke / Pexels
2. How to be secure online
At a certain point you have to accept that you can’t use the same password for every account you’ve had on the internet since you were 13. Hackers are real and they will eat your Password123! for breakfast. Be better than that.
3. How to fold a fitted sheet
Apparently there is a way to do this properly that is not scrunching it in a ball and stuffing it in the cupboard! Who knew?
4. How most jobs work
It happens to the best of us: after busily studying a career path, you’re suddenly plunged into the deep end without any real understanding of how the actual job works.
If you want to get ahead of the game, look for courses that go past theory and really show you how different jobs work. Edith Cowan University gets you ready for the real world with courses that are developed in consultation with industry and opportunities to put theory into practice, which means you graduate world ready.
5. Basic first aid
You could literally save a life just by knowing some simple first aid, so this is a good one to have under your belt. Learn what to do in an emergency situation from an accredited source so that you’re not relying on what you’ve learned from TV when someone is choking, burned, or needs CPR.
6. How to get stains out
Far too many precious clothes have been destroyed in this learning process. Pro tip: if it’s an oily stain (food, lipstick), use a dry paper towel instead of water!
7. How to change a tyre
Changing a tyre is one of those things that you don’t need to know until suddenly you really really need to know it, and it’s too late. While you’re at it, learn at least the basics of what’s going on under the hood of a car. You’re welcome.
What it feels like when I finally pour water in the windshield wiper tank.
8. How to clean up after yourself
Some people (@my housemates) will have a rude shock when they find out that their dishes do not magically disappear and reappear clean.
9. You don’t have to just pick one job/career
It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway through a degree or five years into a career path, you can literally change your mind at any time! There’s always more out there to learn, and Edith Cowan University is always ready to teach. ECU is Australia’s top public uni for teaching quality (QILT 2020), and it even achieved a placing as one of the Top 100 Young Universities in the world.
10. How to look good in a photo
… Still waiting for an epiphany on this one.
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Lead image: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
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To find out more about how an undergraduate degree from ECU prepares you to become World Ready, visit ecuworldready.com.au