There are some things you can grasp fully by being told, and others that don’t really hit home until you experience them for yourself. And sometimes, those lessons can really hurt.

But that’s how you learn, right? At least that’s how these folks did.

#15. Selfish idiots.

“Your friends don’t always make the best roommates. Sometimes the added costs of living alone are still cheaper than living with selfish idiots.”

#14. Don’t get cocky.

“Don’t get cocky if you win at life, because if you get too comfortable, it can get taken away in a matter of seconds

(Lost 3 people in my family in the same week, grades dropped immensly, dropped out of school, lost a good chunk of the friends I made that year).”

#13. Your whole life.

“If you don’t stick up for yourself you’ll get walked on your whole life…”

#12. The only minority group.

“Being disabled is the only minority group you can join at any time in your life.”

11. On effort and intelligence.

“There comes a point where effort passes intelligence. For some the point is early on in life. Others it may take a while for it to hit them.

Those gifted teenagers that don’t have to try very hard get used to not trying very hard. While others make a habit of studying and getting through. You will find that the less advanced kids outperform the more advanced ones due to lack of effort and apathy.”

#10. Nothing at all you can do.

“Even if a relationship feels 100% perfect and right to you, it may not feel that way to your partner. Along the same lines, some relationships fail not because you did something wrong, but simply because she/he wanted something else. In those cases there’s nothing at all you can do but let them go.”

#9. Wash properly.

“To wash my hands properly after cutting up chillies.”

#8. Just like the cartoons.

“When you step on the head of a rake that is facing up, it’s just like in the cartoons.”

#7. Toxic.

“There are some people out there who are toxic, and its’ OK to cut them out of your life.”

#6. It adds up.

“Don’t spend money on useless bullshit. It adds up.”

#5. No matter how hard.

“No matter how hard you work toward something, it still might not happen.”

#4. They are red for a reason.

“Do not ignore Red Flags in a person you are dating. They are there, and they are red for a reason.”

#3. Money is nice, but…

“Don’t take a job that you hate just because it pays well. Money is nice but hating your life is not worth any amount.”

#2. A car without gas.

“What a car without gas sounds like. It doesn’t always do nothing at all. Sometimes it almost starts, sputters and then dies. Got it towed before giving it gas and giving that a try.”

#1. Don’t be lazy.

“Don’t be lazy with birth control

edit: I should clarify that it wasn’t because i was lazy with taking birth control, it’s that i came from an ultra conservative background and birth control was nearly impossible to access it since I wasn’t allowed to drive and having friends i could trust to keep it a secret if I asked them for a ride to the sex health clinic 30 mins away. I also had no job, so It was even hard to purchase it.”