As a 13-year-old the fact that my parents would sit down to watch TV on weeknights after dinner made me think they were mindless drones.

Turns out they were just tired from work, cooking dinner, dealing with my bullshit, etc, and just wanted to rest for a few hours before repeating the cycle.

-u/foxbones

That not every situation is black & white. -u/urbexcemetery

The older I get the more I find myself saying "It's not that simple." -u/picksandchooses

As a kid, I was upset with my mom for not getting me some silly thing I wanted because she only had $100ish in the bank. I was so sure that $100 is a lot of money. 20 years later I now understand it is not -u/nnf204

That staying in and relaxing is enjoyable and not boring -u/livOFx

I used to care a lot about what everyone thought of me. Sometimes I still do, but as I grew older I realized nobody really thinks about you cause they're too busy thinking about themselves. -u/didnsignup4dis

That parents are experts on... parenting. No sir, we're all amateurs who just make up as we go along. -u/Tropical_Geek1

As someone who has worked in a municipality, none of your elected (or unelected lol) leaders know sh*t about piss. -u/OwMyCandle

When I was a kid, I thought what adults did was an example of what I should do. Later, I realized it was just as often an example of what not to do. -u/boulomai_mathein

There are absolutely things you do not want to know. -u/Cpt_MrMxyzptlk

That everything is my mom's fault and my dad could do no wrong. Now I realize my mom needs therapy and my dad needs a serious reality check -u/Plus-Mama-4515

People have a reason for doing what they do. It might not be a good reason, a nice reason, or even a logical reason, but they do have a reason. So if someone is doing something you consider to be overwhelmingly stupid, there is probably a reason for it and you should probably find out what that reason is before you try and bitch at them about it. It might be stupid, or you might learn something. -u/Averant

I’m not special. Unique, yes, because there is literally only one of me. But special, no. No clue why my mum was so obsessed with pretending I was destined for greatness, but the fact of the matter is/was I am average just like the majority of people on this planet. -u/tittychittybangbang

I used to prefer soggy cereal as a kid, now I eat it as fast as I can so it retains some crunch -u/NuclearWinterGames

It actually doesn't matter if my sandwich is cut in triangles or in rectangles. In fact I'd rather it not be cut at all, but if it's in squares it's no big deal. I'd like to apologize to the babysitter I melted down on, looking back that was no reason to cry until I threw up. -u/dieinafirenazi

When I was young, I thought I knew everything. Now that I'm (relatively) old, I realize I'm ignorant about 99% of life. It makes life interesting, though! -u/BobbingForBunions

That having kids and raising them was an easy job since I saw everyone doing it. Ever since I grew up, I realized they're mostly doing it wrong and it's probably one of the toughest jobs out there because a person's entire life is in your hands. -u/EnvironmentalSite351

Ariel is a f*cking moron. I now side with King Triton 100%. -u/JADW27

Monica Lewinsky was treated horribly. While she played a role in the situation, she was treated like it was all her fault. -u/rebeccanotbecca

Two very painful lessons regarding Religion: Realizing the difference between what you were taught, and what is actually written in your preferred religious texts. It's incredibly difficult to let go of something you held as truth, only to realize most of what you were taught, was in effort to groom you into a set of behaviors. The severe guilt you go through when deciding to let go of everything you believe, and to decide for yourself what you believe, and how your lived experiences support that belief. That when you remove all the fear-based sh*t from religion, you actually get closer to the real value of religion. You don't need to treat your religion like a hammer to condemn others to hell. You don't need to treat your belief like an insurance policy, in case you die. You don't need to be afraid of hell, to treat other people with kindness. -u/ksozay

That a person’s success is a reflection of his/her talents or work ethic. Growing up meant realizing there are plenty of talented, hardworking people whose skills are unappreciated, and more than a few lazy dumbasses with tons of money and power. -u/squirrels33

That governments of all sizes were competent and had the people's best interests at heart. Now that I know people in many different levels of government it's literally the blind leading the blind...nobody's driving the bus and everyone's out for their own interests. -u/RedMurray

Honestly, I used to see the good in people and try to make allowances for them. Now I feel like most people I meet are selfish arseholes with room temperature IQs. -u/Hylobius

When I was young, war was something glorious that brave heroes did. Now, war is at best, a bad idea, and more commonly, a way for the rich and powerful to destroy the young and naive. -u/barnfodder

I was that jerk that didn’t believe in social programs. I will happily admit that teenage me was a dumbass with no awareness or understanding of how the real world works. Now that I’m in it, we need MORE social programs. People are hurting out there! And for absolutely NO reason at all. -u/andandandetc