Eighteen.
In the US, it’s the age you can buy cigarettes, register to vote, and get married without
a legal guardian’s or court’s permission in most states.
It’s when you are legally considered an adult, and it’s when a lot of us gain a
large measure of independence.
This month my sister turned 18, so for her birthday, I wanted to compile a list of a
few things that you should probably know when you turn 18.
[♪♩INTRO]
#1 Voting
In many countries you are now eligible to vote!
In the U.S., it is your decision whether to vote or not, and in most states you have
to go and register yourself before you can.
This choice is yours and only yours, and it is one of many choices that you are responsible
for, now that you are an adult.
If you do choose to vote, there’s a link in the description to a guide on how to vote
in each state that Hank and company made in 2016.
If you don’t live in the U.S., you might have a different system.
Many countries whose citizens elect their officials automatically register each of
their citizens, for some countries like Australia or Belgium, voting is mandatory, and in some
countries citizens do not elect their officials.
Voting is one of the main ways you can make your voice heard in a democratic society.
It’s a pretty big responsibility, which is why you have to be an adult to do it!
#2 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER Another, more U.S.-centric thing you should
know is the digits of your social security number.
Like your address or phone number, this is something you should probably have memorized.
Knowing your social security number is not something necessarily specific to turning
18, but because many young folks enter the workforce at this age, we figured it was worth
mentioning.
Your social security number is assigned to you at birth, and you can kind of think of
it as your claim to workers insurance.
In fact, the official name for social security is “Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance”,
and it is designed to provide you and/or your family financial assistance when you get to
a certain age after working for a certain amount of time, become disabled, or die.
You may have heard that social security will run out by the time you retire, but according
to experts, this is very unlikely.
Social security will almost undoubtedly go through some changes before you retire, but
as it’s a very popular program that’s been around for a while, it will probably
continue to exist.
The program is funded through taxation, so you’ll need to have this number on hand
to become employed, or if you’re self employed, you’ll need it to report your wages to the
government.
Be careful to whom you give this number, because someone can steal your identity if they get
ahold of it.
It’s normal for banks to ask for it when you open an account, when applying for a federal
loan or public assistance, applying for a passport or driver’s license, when someone
is going to perform a background check on you, or, as I said earlier, when you’re
becoming employed and when you’re doing your taxes.
There are a few other reasons why someone might ask for your social security number,
but it’s best to be cautious and make sure it’s absolutely necessary before giving
it away.
#3 DOCUMENT YOUR APARTMENT As you venture out on your own, you’ll probably
wind up renting an apartment at some point.
When you sign your lease, before you move your stuff in:
Take. Pictures. Of. Everything.
Send them to your landlord or property management company, and keep a copy around for yourself.
If you want to get your deposit back, you’ll want to have these pictures around to prove
that anything in the apartment that is already dirty, scuffed, or damaged was that way when
you got there.
Your property management company or landlord don’t have to have malicious intentions
to take money out of your deposit to fix something when you leave:
they might just not have known about the damage.
Take it upon yourself to document everything before you live in a space in order to prevent
a massive headache for your future self.
#4 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES CAN BE AFFORDABLE Perhaps one of the most important things on
this list, is knowing how to get psychological support.
There are a lot of folks out there who believe that they cannot afford therapy, but many
therapists will offer their services on a sliding scale, and will find a way to make
therapy affordable to you.
Early adulthood is challenging for many people, but no matter what your age is, if you feel
like you’re struggling, one of the best things you can do for yourself is seek professional
help.
If you’re interested and not sure where to start, we have a video about finding a
therapist that we’ll leave in the description.
#5 YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE THINGS FIGURED OUT
Okay, you’re an adult, so you should basically have your whole future planned out, right?
There’s probably been someone in the history of the world for which that rings true, but
for the vast majority of us, adulthood is just a continuation of figuring things out
that began when we were very tiny babies.
We can make educated guesses and plans, and have goals and dreams, but no one knows what
the future holds.
It’s okay to not know what you want to do with your life, and it’s also okay to try
something and change your mind.
Thanks for watching, and happy birthday to all you newly-minted 18-year-olds out there.
If you want to get more information on how to adult, give that old subscribe button a
click-a-roo.
And if you want to support us on Patreon, and help fund some sweet sweet content, head
on over to patreon.com/howtoadult.
Intro ["booping" the intro music]
In many countries, you are now eligible to bo—
To boat.
I've had my identity stolen, like, three times so...
Be careful.
As you veg—
Vegetable.
As you vegetable out on your own...
[something drops in upstairs] Head on over to Patreon.com/howtoadult
[off screen] Let's do that one one more time because it sounded
[off screen] like someone dropped a bowling ball.
[off screen, laughter] Oh my god, you are amazing.
[laughter]
I did it!