1. How to write a formal e-mail
I use this skill right now a lot for contacting organizations about events for SYS. I've definitely gotten better and found ideas for improvement in the replies I get. The e-mails you send to friends are nothing like the e-mails you send to people you don't know as well, and that's why it's important to know how to write a proper e-mail: greeting, organized paragraphs, polite language, and a closing.
2. How to place a formal phone call
This one scares me. Again, I have to do this for SYS and it's hard the first few times because there's a real-life adult talking to you at that exact moment and you need to make sure you sound like a mature, rather than stupid, teenager. You need to remember everything you wanted to mention because once you hang up the call is over, you need to maintain a friendly, yet professional tone, you need to use your very best manners and pull out all of the please's and thank you's you've got... There's a lot to think about and really the only way to learn is to do it.
3. How to leave a voicemail
*beep* "uhh... Hi, this is, um, Beatrice, and I'm, uh..." Sound familiar? This one is also very stressful. Should I say the American version of my name or the half-and-half one? Should I say my phone number? How many times should I repeat it? How detailed should the message be? When can they call me back?
4. How to do taxes
Yeah, I don't really know a thing about taxes except that it's tax season right now and the only reason I know that is because of all of the commercials.
5. How to safely cook meat
When you're in the middle of a long, tiring recipe and you forgot to preheat the oven and you left a spice out and the 1/3 measuring cup you need is in the dishwasher and all you want to do is toss that chicken in the oven and automagically cook it so you can just eat already, remember this: "Don't do that." Meat is a tricky thing and unless you're a vegetarian you'll have to cook a lot of it in your life. So put on your adult shoes and act responsibly, because salmonella and other foodborne illnesses are no laughing matter.
6. How to get a credit card
This one I'll have to learn soon enough. It seems scary what with all the adults (I think?) on the internet going on about how a credit card can financially ruin the rest of your life but hopefully if I stick with responsibility and good judgement I won't... ruin my life.
7. How to pay bills
Water, energy, phone, TV, internet, insurance, the list goes on and on... One of the scariest things about adulthood, I think.
8. How to drive
I'm old enough to start learning how to drive but I haven't yet. I know I'll need to soon, though, because I feel bad whenever my parents have to take me somewhere more than a few minutes away. I'm excited for the freedom but I hear driver's ed is expensive, so I'm hesitantly nearing that point in my life.
9. How to converse
Whether or not you can keep a conversation going will be a lot of people's first impression of you and it'll make or break your job interviews and other encounters with important people. Not only that, but being a good conversationalist will simply make you more comfortable in everyday life, and you'll have an easier time making friends. It's easier said than done, of course, and our creative imaginations bail out on us when someone makes a joke and all we can do is nervously laugh, nod, and stare straight ahead until they say something else.
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