Being in your 20s is scary because you have new responsibilities and priorities— some of which you may not fully own just yet. Thankfully, being in your 20s also means that you have a lot of time to bulk up in life skills. Take advantage of your free time this summer to learn these essential life skills:
How to (successfully) cook
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Whether you live at home or on your own, this one goes without saying. You don’t need to be good enough to audition for Chopped, but you should at least have a handful of go-to recipes. Before building a solid repertoire of recipes to impress your friends with, you need to learn the basics. For example, I didn’t know that leaving oil on the stove for too long can cause an oil fire which may or may not burn your kitchen down. Be safe out there with these basic kitchen safety tips.
How to handle basic car maintenance
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So you’re on a road trip and your tire pressure light turns on. You might freak out over that little yellow light, but it’s actually a super easy fix. In fact, a lot of routine car maintenance problems are quick fixes that you can do yourself such as checking the tire pressure, refilling the windshield washer fluid or replacing the air filter. Don’t worry, though; YouTube is full of tutorials that will make you feel like a pro. Here’s a guide to help you figure out what those flashing lights really mean.
How to sew
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Sewing is amazing because you will feel like such a savvy fashion designer when you’re able to hem your jeans without visiting a tailor. It’s also a very convenient skill to have as it saves you money. Why pay extra to replace a whole sweater when you can just sew on a new button?
How to do your own laundry
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Laundry can be confusing because there are so many options: what spin cycle do I use? Do I air dry this? Does it even matter? Turns out, it actually does matter. So unless you want your clothes to shrink two sizes in the wash, you’d best get the hang of doing your laundry. Here’s a link to help you decipher those supposedly helpful tags inside your clothes.
How to make an appointment
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You would think that calling an office to make an appointment would be easy enough considering that it requires zero face-to-face interaction, but it’s actually the opposite. There is just something so intimidating about calling a faceless person and scheduling a dental appointment. But as we get older, we come to realize that our parents can’t do this for us forever. Time to pick up the phone. Keep these golden tips handy when you schedule your next appointment.
How to parallel park
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Ironically, I aced parallel parking on my driver’s test, but I fail at this in everyday life. I thought that parallel parking was unnecessary; like, how often will you need to park by a curb? But it turns out you do have to, often, especially in a busy city. Don’t assume that you’ll never have to parallel park—instead, take the time to learn how to do it properly. Practice in your driveway if you have to. In fact, there are plenty of tutorials out there to help you get the hang of parallel parking. It will save your car the scratches and you the embarrassment of not being able to parallel park in public.
How to be a responsible shopper
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Why must you take all my money Asos, why? This is honestly the hardest life skill on the list because it’s so tempting to spend the remainder of your paycheck shopping online. I mean, free shipping, right? You have bills to pay now, but keep in mind, you’ll still have bills to pay in your 40s. So it’s a good idea to start practicing responsible shopping habits now.
What life skills have you mastered in your 20s? Let us know using the hashtag, #CampusCropChat on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Don’t forget to follow us on Snapchat @asicpp!
