26 Life Lessons Everyone Learns the Hard Way

There are a few things we sometimes do more than once before we realize they are pretty much the worst idea ever.

‘Cause we’re smrt.

If you’re anything like us, you know there’s a lot in life you’ve probably learned the hard way. Here are just 26 examples…  

1. Vacation Romances Probably Won’t Work Out in Real Life
Everything and everyone is better on vacation. More often than not, you realize this after you’ve flown three hours to visit them for weekend after your trip.

2. There Are Always Strings Attached When You Hookup With Your Ex
It seems easy, comfortable, and harmless, especially because the two of you are “so over” one another. But if you make a habit of it, there will be complications.

3. Liquid Courage Rarely Helps in the Text Message Department
Repeat offenders never learn their lesson when it comes to the drunken text. It’s rarely as witty, cute, or coherent in real life as it is in your head. And by rarely we mean never. 

4. Drinking in the Sun All Afternoon Probably Means Your Evening is Shot
An afternoon of booze and sun usually means one thing: the inevitable late afternoon nap. And despite your best intentions, you probably won’t wake up in time for those dinner plans.

5. Food Won’t Magically Appear the Second Time You Open the Fridge
If you found nothing you liked in the fridge the first time, do you think the Food Fairy has replenished it with new offerings when you wander back to open it a few minutes later? 

6. It’s Depressing to Social Media Stalk Your Ex
Just don’t. If the temptation’s too much, you could easily spend your evening in a never-ending social media hole full of things and profiles you really don’t need to see.

7. Our Parents Are Right a Lot of the Time
Even now that we’re older and hopefully wiser than we were in our rebellious years, we still ignore some of the seasoned advice from our parents until it turns out to prove true. 

8. You Probably Should Have Made a Reservation
If you’re entertaining a client or date at a hot restaurant and you don’t make a reservation ahead of time – no matter how unnecessary you think it is on a Monday – you’re setting yourself up for potential embarrassment when you and your guests are turned away.

9. Some Hairstyles Are Not Made for You
No matter how great they look on that celeb or random model in your magazine, it doesn’t mean they’re going to do the same editorial-ready justice for you. Sidenote – the same goes for eyewear.

10. The Sun Can Still Burn You on a Cloudy Day
It’s a tricky (and powerful) star, that one.

11. Birthday and New Year’s Eve Expectations Are Best Kept Low
Both have the potential for heightened disappointment if things don’t go the way you’d hoped. But you know that from experience by now.

12. It’s Not As Good as it Looks on Social Media
It took an hour to get that baby to stop crying and sit still for that shot; that perfect “couple’s vacation” was not without its arguments; and no, she did not “wake up like this.”

13. Drinking and Posting is Rarely a Brilliant Idea
Drinking and posting on social media is way worse than a drunken text because it’s literally there for everyone you know to witness – then note its removal the next morning.

14. Nobody Cares About What You Did in University Undergrad
Even if you went to Harvard. Seriously, stop talking about it. It’s what you do afterwards that matters. 

15. If Your Shoes Hurt a Little, they’ll Soon Hurt a Lot
No matter how great they look, and no matter how much you tell yourself that wearing them out will ‘break them in,’ you’re in for an evening of torture if they hurt the second you put them on.

16. Open Bars Aren’t Always a Good Thing
Open bars usually mean low-end liquor and wine, an inevitable mixing of booze when they run out of what you’ve been drinking, and over consumption, making for an epic hangover.

17. Going Out to “Pick Up” is Usually a Disappointment
When you hit the town with a sole agenda to “pick up,” you’ll be even more bummed out about your single status when you fail to connect with anyone and return home with a phone number. It’s a waste of time, money, and an outfit.

18. There’s Never a Good Time to Hit Ikea or the Apple Store
Seriously, never; so consider doing so as an exercise in patience building.

19. Think Before You Reply
When you get a work email that makes you want to break your computer screen, don’t react right away. And sometimes five deep breaths should really turn into five long hours. 

20. Packing Will Take Longer than You Think
It always does; yet you continue to leave it to the 11th hour. Every. Damn. Time. 

21. Your Back Pocket is the Worst Place for Your Phone
You’ll either end up sitting on it and cracking the screen, or it will end up in the toilet.

22. Sleep Really Does Make You Look Better
You’ve learned that those few times you’ve shamelessly slept away an entire weekend and had your coworkers notice your fresh-as-a-freshman face on Monday.

23. There are Some Really Shitty People in the World
Whether on the news or in real life, the actions of certain humans will never fail to shock and appall in a way we never knew possible as kids.

24. There are Some Really Amazing People in the World
Just when you start to lose faith in humanity, there are constant reminders of the countless gems of humans around us. They still exist.

25. Just Because it’s on Sale Doesn’t Mean You Have to Buy It
Buying something on sale is often a waste of money. You’re lured by the “sale” sign to something you don’t necessarily love, just because it’s on sale. Then it sits in your closet, never to see the light of day. 

26. Just Because they Say they’ll Call Doesn’t Mean they Will
Just like you didn’t all those times you said you would. Karma, baby. Karma. 

#NOTABLE

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