Do you ever look back on certain things from your childhood and think, “wow, I didn’t know sh*t about sh*t!”

Or maybe you even feel that way about some stuff from your twenties?

I know I do that all the time! But I guess that’s what life is all about, huh?

What did you not really understand until you were older?

Let’s see what folks on AskReddit had to say about this.

1. That’s no fun.

“How doing a ordinary task can create pain.

“I slept on it wrong”

“I stood up too fast”

“I sat down too long”

“I drank water too hard.””

2. This is good.

“That you’re never really “there”.

Life is constantly in flux, and you aren’t going to get to a place where you’re suddenly “done” and it all just works.”

3. Find the good ones.

“Friendship is based on quality, not quantity.

This is so huge. Foster those meaningful relationships and keep them forefront and honest.

My best friend has TONS of friends and that’s where she puts her stock, not the closeness of just a few. It can be sad.”

4. It’s true.

“How there are so many lonely old people out there.

At first I thought they were all just grouchy, but now I see after college how hard it is to maintain so many friendships. Half my social circle has moved out of state, and of the half that’s left so many are having kids and don’t have time for fun outings.

Friendships take way more work, and you’ve gotta do that work or end up with a very small or nonexistent circle.”

5. It really adds up.

“The importance of proper dental care.

And how expensive it is.”

6. Oh, no!

“Wanting to eat healthy.

Last night I cooked myself a medium rare steak and steamed up some veggies for dinner.

After months of depression-eating junk food it was legitimately the best meal I’ve had in a long time.

Sweet potato is delicious.”

7. A hard fact of life.

“You are not the center of the universe.

The public really doesn’t cares what you do. They are too busy living their own lives just like you.

So, don’t worry about looking silly or not greeting people happy birthday because Facebook alerted you.”

8. Life moves pretty fast.

“How short your life will feel.

When you get to an age where your closer to your death than your birth, it’ll feel like it went by too fast.”

9. Moving on.

“That it’s ok to outgrow friends and move on, no matter how long you’ve known them.

Life is way too short to hold onto any kind of bad relationship.”

10. A kid at heart.

“That it doesn’t actually feel any different to be older.

When you’re a kid, people always refer to “when you grow up” as if at some point you will “be grown up”.

I still feel like a 17 year old who’s just given more and more responsibilities.

I’m often wondering “why do people trust me with this task” until I realize, oh yeah probably because I’m an adult with experience, who’d have thought?

You keep growing as a person forever, but you’ll never feel “grown up.”

11. Sorry, folks.

“How annoying you must have been as a kid and how difficult you made your parents’ lives.”

12. It’s gray.

“As a kid I saw everything as black and white.

Good vs evil, right vs wrong.

It turns out the world is very gray, and gets more gray the older I get.”

13. Discipline

“Discipline is not about obedience, but about self-respect and ambition.

It’s not about doing what the coach or dad says, but about having the will to do what might suck in the short term to achieve one’s goals in the long term.”

14. Consider yourself lucky.

“The irony that you get old only if you are lucky.

I’m 44 and already lost two friends.

One died of cancer when she was 32 and the other in a motorcycle accident when he was 36.”

Now it’s your turn.

In the comments, tell us what you didn’t really understand until you got older.

We can’t wait to hear from you!