Transitioning into adulthood was incredibly rough for me. Mounting anxieties, mental illness, and being on the Autistic Spectrum only compounded these issues further. If you are nearing adulthood or have just graduated high school, PLEASE take the following into consideration.
- Making friends will not come as easy (at least not for many). Usually, when you are attending school, you are within an environment where you see the same people often on a usually-consistant basis. They are roughly around the same age in a similar stage in life. You normally have classes together. Thus, there are ample opportunities to converse and gradually form relationships with these peers. As an adult, unless you are in college or part of some group where there is an obligation of attendance, these opportunities are not as common. Sure there is work, but the team you may regularly work with may vary in size, age, and life experience, and you may not consistently see the same people. Of course, that may depend on the nature of your job too. Also, many work friendships fade once one or more people depart ways. That leads me to my next point.
- Friends will come and go. The ones you may be very close with or "BFF's" now may drift away. Some of your friends may get married and have families. Their nuclear families become the main focus of their lives, while they have less and less time for their single friends. Meanwhile, you may find yourself having less and less in common with the ones you used to call your best friends. People enter life stages at different times, and unfortunately, you may either be ahead or fall behind.
- Adult bullies exist too, maybe just differently. You may find that adult bullies are not as "direct" and "blunt" as their childhood counterparts. Instead, many adult bullies will operate in an "indirect" manner, manipulating others around you to reject you or throw you under the bus. They employ sneaky and subtle tactics to build a case against you, and the worst part, you may not know until the damage is done and it is too late. That brings me to my next point.
- You will learn to be very careful who you trust. Usually as a child, you may see the world in rose-colored glasses and believe those adults you thought you can trust, the elders, would never do any harm against you. Well think again. Once you become an adult, attitudes change. You no longer have that "benefit of the doubt" you once had. Many of these adults may have been forgiving and easy when you were a kid, but once you become an adult, their attitudes may shift and they may blindside you.
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I wish I knew how dumb people would get in my golden boy years.
Seek therapy. Posting about it on here won't help you.