22 People Who Never Grew Up And Made It Everyone Else’s Problem
I’m not the best at being an adult. It took me way too long to grow up, and I’m only in my 30s. If I’d figured out ten years sooner that I should eat better and take care of my health, I’d probably make fewer noises getting off the couch. “I’ll worry about that when I’m older” has an expiration date.
Someone on Reddit asked, ‘What’s the worst case you’ve seen of someone who never decided to grow up?’ These answers should make you feel a little better about whatever adult responsibility you’ve been putting off.
1. A $3,000 Monthly Allowance At 42
“My brother wanted to move out, so my parents loaned him money for a house, and in 15 years, he never paid back a single dollar. He needed a car. They bought him a Mustang. Wrecked the Mustang. Bought him a Camaro. Wrecked the Camaro. Got him two motorcycles. Totaled them both. The second wreck put him in the hospital, and my parents still paid his health insurance.
Last I heard, he was 42 years old and had never had a full-time job. Ever. I know my mom still writes him a check every month for $3,000.”
2. The Bus Station Was Not A Knife-Throwing Range
“My 42-year-old friend has been unemployed for long stretches of time. He once got fired from working at a small town bus station for getting bored one day and practicing his knife-throwing skills against the wall.
He thought he was in the right, to the point where he came back to the station after getting fired to throw a chair.”
3. A Mercedes And A $1,000 Weekly Allowance
“My neighbor is 35 and lives with his mom and dad. He has a $100k Mercedes and a motorbike, but argues with his parents about needing an allowance of $1,000/week to live.”
4. Family Drama, But In Space
“One of my cousins is 50, has never moved out of his father’s house, has his wife and kids also living in said house, and rather than get a job, he will occasionally post a really bad self-published sci-fi novel on his Goodreads. The plot of his books can be summarized as follows: Game of Thrones, but in space.
You can often tell which members of the family he was pissed off at when he wrote certain chapters.”
5. Every Publisher Had The Same Problem
“My ex’s sister married this brain-dead schmuck who never held any job for more than three weeks. He preferred to sit in his room working on a ‘Christian book’ he claimed to be writing.
Every publisher rejected it for plagiarism.”
6. One Date Turned Into Six Months Of Complaints
“I told a guy I went on a date with that I didn’t want to see him again. He damn near threw a tantrum and accused me of ‘discriminating him’ for being a white Christian man, claimed that I ‘owed’ him a chance at a long-term relationship because he was interested, and said that as a woman, I was too stupid to know what I wanted and that I needed ‘a man like him’ to make decisions for me.
He kept texting and emailing me variations of his tantrum for nearly six months, demanding I give him valid reasons to end our ‘relationship’ (you know, the one that didn’t exist).”
7. He Expected His Ex To Keep Funding The Party House
“Ex decided he would rather do hard drugs, drink, and play games rather than maintain a job, pay his share of bills, take care of himself, or put any effort into a relationship with me or my son.
When I left, he expected me to continue paying rent and electricity for him to have a party house with his friends. He ended up getting evicted.”
8. They Found Him Up A Tree
“An ex-friend of mine married a man who was so childish that their relationship actually made me uncomfortable. He had zero social skills. I watched him eat the cardboard holder for his coffee cup once. He wouldn’t wear shoes in the street. Once he disappeared at an outdoor concert in the middle of the afternoon and was found up a tree (he was sober). When they went to England, he made it his mission to break every social norm anyone told him about because he thought it was funny.
I was actually disturbed at the idea she was attempting to have an adult relationship with this person.”
9. “Grown Up” Was A Forbidden Phrase
“My friend is living with a 35-year-old guy who refuses to allow anyone to use the word ‘grown up’ in his presence. He insists that he shouldn’t have to grow up and plans to stay a child forever.
I don’t know how to tell him that there is a big difference between a childlike sense of wonder and just being an immature jackass.”
10. A Paid-Off House Does Not Mean A Free Life
“A neighbor in his late 40s barely graduated from high school and never showed any interest in higher education. He still lives with his now-elderly parents, who told him they were leaving him their house, which is paid for. His interpretation of that is that when they’re gone, he’ll live debt-free for life.
I give it 18 months tops after his parents die before he gets kicked out of his dark, cold, no-running-water house.”
11. Even Offering Her Gum Came With Conditions
“Worked for a 40-year-old salon owner who married young and decided to stop developing emotionally or intellectually at 19 years old. Running out to grab lunch and offer to grab something for her? ‘Yes, but I’m going to want a million alterations, so get a pen and prepare for them to take a while.’ Offering a stick of gum? ‘Don’t offer me gum unless you’re ready to give me two pieces.’ Clients indicate that they prefer any other stylist? ‘I guess I’m just not good enough.’
On top of it all, she thinks her behavior is cute. Now, she’s just a 50-something mean girl.”
12. Six Hours Without Smoking Was Too Much To Ask
“My ex-roommate was expected to show up at his call center job, work for six hours, and not smoke weed. He just couldn’t help it and would light up about halfway through his shift. Lasted a few days, was given many warnings. He blamed the ethnicity of his supervisor rather than his own drug problem.
To calm down, he smoked a lot more weed, ran out, and harassed his fiancée to get him more while he played on my Xbox.”
13. His Wife Spent Three Years Trying To Get Him To Leave Her Alone
“I used to work with a guy in his 50s who didn’t pay rent or bills and would never clean up after himself. He lived like a child. He only got a master’s and a bachelor’s because his last two girlfriends had those degrees, and he felt threatened by them. But he didn’t have the skill set to use the degrees in the field, so now he just works in fast food.
His wife didn’t wanna be with him and he wouldn’t leave her alone, so she pretended to be gay for three solid years.”
14. The Jobs Just Didn’t “Vibe” With Him
“I knew a guy who quit jobs every two weeks because ‘they didn’t vibe with him.’
He then blamed society.”
15. She Predicted His Future, And He Proved Her Right
“My ex refused to get a job. He’d get so many opportunities, turn up for a week, and leave. He also dropped out of his uni studies because he just couldn’t be bothered. What really used to bug me was that he’d rely on his grandma’s money to buy video games, and this was still going on in his late 20s.
I broke up with him because I basically predicted he’d be spending his whole life living on a couch. That’s exactly where he is now…and he’s almost 40.”
16. The Next Career Plan Is Truck Driving
“My brother failed culinary school, got dishonorably discharged from the Army, got three separate girls pregnant, then married the last one only to divorce her after because she annoyed him.
He recently quit his best job yet, and now he thinks he can be a truck driver…”
17. All His Money Went To Consoles, Parties, And Clothes
“A former coworker would spend his entire salary on consoles, parties, and designer clothes, all while living at his mother’s house and not paying a single expense.
He got angry if someone said something to him and always said, ‘I’m going to get going…’ but he never did.”
18. Her Parents Were Expected To Pay For Everything
“My half sister is 30. She doesn’t have children. She doesn’t work or contribute to bills. She lives off of my parents, screaming and cursing at them to pay her car payments and insurance. The most my parents can get her to do is watch the pets while they are on vacation.
She has absolutely no plans for a future or a family. I was very hurt and upset when I heard that my parents would be leaving her their lovely home.”
19. Decades Later, The Routine Hasn’t Changed
“My high school friend and I used to spend all our time as teenagers smoking weed and playing PlayStation. Last time I saw him, he was in his 30s doing exactly the same thing.
From what I’ve heard, he’s still doing that in his 40s.”
20. Every Console, But No Plan For The Future
“The son of close family friends I knew growing up is in his 40s now and will ask if you want to play N64 when you visit. He has every console ever, plus a room of games. He never worked a job that paid. He never moved out. He doesn’t even claim unemployment because that’d take too much effort.
Never dated. No relationships ever. I feel bad for him. Not sure what he will do when his parents pass in a couple of years.”
21. Helping Out Was Enough To Cause A Tantrum
“My uncle is in his 40s, still living with his parents. Spends all day gaming. No job, no responsibilities.
He throws tantrums when asked to help with anything.”
22. Everyone Else Was Always To Blame
“My sister never went to college, even though our grandparents would pay for it. She’s been bankrupt at least twice. Now she’s in her late 60s and living off public assistance.
And of course, she thinks all her problems are someone else’s fault.”