Adulting is hard, and no one knows that better than millennials. So much so that so-called “adulting classes” are growing in popularity among the Gen Y set. These classes teach young adults how to cook, unclog drains, change a car’s oil, and other tasks that were once assumed to be common knowledge among adults. “Uh, do you offer these classes for older people, too?” — A Friend.
CBS News reports that these classes are gaining popularity, with people in their late twenties attending in order to learn how to cut vegetables and prepare edible food. “I don’t know, I was so used to when living at home, my mom always cooking,” said 29 year old Elena Toumaras. “Doing simple things now that I’m on my own, I’m struggling with it.”
RELATED: Millennials Don’t Take Time Off Work And Here’s Why
Millennials get constantly called out for their unconventional approach to life, falling behind in achieving milestones that are considered staples of adulthood. They may have jobs, pay rent, and travel, but many are still stuck in the young adulthood phase, even as they begin to enter their thirties.
Today’s adults aren’t less competent than they were a decade ago. Neither Hooters nor avocados are to blame here. Experts have several theories as to why this phenomenon is happening, ranging from weak wages and rapid rise of housing costs and expenditures, to the disappearance of home economics and shop courses from high schools.
Senator Ben Sasse argues in his book “The Vanishing American Adult” that Millennials are unlike previous generations because they have been affected and changed by technology. Young adults have embraced “perpetual adolescence.” He also puts blame on Gen Xers for not preparing their kids for the demands of real work. “It is good for kids to learn how to work. Right now, we’re acting like keeping our kids free from work is a way to treat them really nicely, when in reality thoughtful parenting wants to help free our kids to find meaning in work.”
RELATED: How Millennials Have Caused Divorce Rates To Plummet
So, if you don’t know how to cook, please take an adulting class. Cooking is important and necessary, no matter how much you’re mocked for your incompetence. Adulthood and life milestones might need to be redefined for future generations. Hopefully by then, people will stop whining about it.
