I am often surprised at my inability to complete basic tasks. Don’t get me wrong, I get good grades, have strong friendships and can wash dishes and boil water as well as the next person, but social situations, basic adult social tasks make me sweat.

I don’t like scheduling my own appointments, or drafting professional emails, or calling customer service. Something about these basic interactions with those in the distinctly “adult” world gives me anxiety. I put “adult” in quotes because by legal definition I am an “adult.” I can legally vote, drive, get a job and call the dentist if I so choose…I simply choose not to.

Why? Is it my elementary school anxiety coming back to haunt me? Is it the same as being scared to give a speech for the class or make a mistake in a public arena? I know I am not an isolated incident. There are scores of Tumblr posts and tweets dedicated to the awkward teen and their inability to “adult” in the world beyond the screen. Why is it so hard for ordinarily competent teens such as myself to interact with others?

Of course many (non-teens) blame the rise cell phones and social media. We have fewer opportunities to communicate face to face. So when it comes down to that job interview the networked teen feels at a loss, and well…awkward.

Maybe that is the problem. Maybe in the increasingly stressful world of high school teens are predisposed to more anxious behavior than their parents. Maybe it simply takes time to develop professional social skills.

What, more importantly, is the solution? Cower in fear until your mom orders your food for you? Follow Thoreau into the woods and live the Walden lifestyle? Or could public education lend a helping hand? We learn few basic practical skills in school. Let’s face it, the War of 1812 and the hypotenuse of a triangle aren’t used in everyday life. We have home economics (excuse me, Family and Consumer Science) in middle school, and the foods classes at South, but to my knowledge I’ve never had the opportunity to take a class on basic adult skills.

Why don’t we have a required class that teaches you how to do your taxes? Or act professionally in a job interview? Why don’t we teach teens how to make a resume or manage money? Maybe if we practiced phone calls in a comfortable academic setting I wouldn’t have to write out a script for every one I have to make.
There is a world beyond the shiny halls of Bloomington High School South. Maybe if I learned more about it before being pushed out of the nest it wouldn’t be so scary.