Well, you're right, to a degree. But then again, this young generation is going to have to grow a hide so every little thing doesn't seem like trauma. The issue with everyone's response here is that we've all been 23. We know, in the big picture, it's a one, on a scale of one to ten in life. But, of course, to a 23 year old, it's everything.
Here is a kind of funny story that might illustrate how big something is to someone, when in fact it's nothing at all.
I was a sponge in school. I learned as much as I could, and really liked learning. I hated weekends and summer vacations, as I could be learning more. With that said, I remember learning cursive handwriting in fourth grade. Like everything else I had studied, I worked hard at this and became really good at it. Then in fifth grade, we learned a completely new style, and again I worked hard and mastered it. Sixth grade comes along - and a whole new style of cursive handwriting to learn - again. This time I put my foot down and refused to learn it. I said that I have already spent a lot of time mastering two styles of this, and there is no reason on earth to learn a third, or fourth. I said to teach me something useful and worth my time to learn! Surprisingly, nobody pushed the matter - they just shrugged their shoulders and said "okay." Okay? No lecture? No berating me? No putting me in my place? Nope. I guess they realized that since I was a top student, and I had a point, there was no need to fight me on this. The lesson I learned there was "how" to think. Not that the subject matter was important, because it obviously wasn't. I look back at that time with some disgust that they had to "fill up" my time with needless and tiring crap that was of no value whatsoever. And - I expressed that. I was ignored, because what does any 12 year old know anyway?
Same thing here. What does a 23 year old know? Well, to a 23 year old, quite a lot. And they're right. BUT the more important thing is to have the maturity to DEAL with a situation. Adjust and pivot. I sense a feeling of being let down because of so many years of hand holding. This time things didn't work out. Well, there's a lesson. Get used to it, because that's going to happen a thousand more times, and then start all over again. It never ends - as all of us older folk know.
I gained a valuable lesson when I was 12. And I too am pissed. Today, there is a gazillion things that 12 year olds could learn. Some are learning computer code - some are involved in on line business ventures. Being 12 is no longer considered being stupid. LOL. But in my time, it sure was.
Maybe my counter point is what the op needs to hear. It's no big deal. But the lesson definitely is. The "lesson" is that in everything there is a lesson. There is something to be learned from every experience. That is the push that will advance you further in life. Lessons are what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. Let's call them a "bad experience." ONLY with enough bad experience, are you able to advance and achieve "good experience." So bad experiences are what you should want, because every one gets you closer to success.
As Steve Jobs said, those that think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones that do.
I was molded that day in sixth grade to be an independent thinker. Not only am I damn good at cursive handwriting - but I can see things in a different light than most people. It's a little on par with MJ in TMF . You have to be pissed and step back to see if things "are" going the way they should be. If not, adjust. But don't be a cry baby about it. Those days of everyone making decisions for you are now gone. Sometimes things don't go according to plan. Welcome to the real world.
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