High school seniors are constantly being reminded of the “real world.” Are you prepared to be an adult? Here is a list of four things you should know before you are thrown into the real world.

1. Learn to Cook

Shelter and food are one of the essential things you need to survive, so knowing how to cook should be a must as an adult. According to Porch, about 43 percent of most American food expenses come from eating out! Cooking at home can save you a lot of money.

Maintaining a healthy diet can also save you money. The myth that junk food is cheaper does not take into consideration the price per unit weight of food. In many studies where the price per weight is compared, results show that healthy options are cheaper. If you go to any general marketplace, a big bag of chips is about $4.50 and you can get five apples for $4.50.

With a touch of a button, you can have access to hundreds of cooking tutorials and easy recipes on YouTube. Ask family members to teach you how to cook the basics or take a cooking class. Once you graduate high school and leave your parents’ house to go to college or to live by yourself, knowing how to cook something other than a cup of noodle soup is useful.

2. Find a Job

Being an adult means you’ll soon be responsible for having a stable source of income to support your lifestyle and pay the bills. The question is, how do you get a job? The first step is to create a resume. Google Docs has helpful templates for resumes. Venice and many public libraries are always hosting resume-building workshops so make sure to attend at least one. Some things you can include on your resume include objective, education, skills, awards, activities and work experience. Make sure to keep track of what clubs, volunteering and internships you can include in your resume.

The second step is deciding what job is right for you. Before starting your job hunt, consider your career goals for yourself. Do you want an informal job like babysitting or do you want to find a serious experience for something you want to pursue? It is important to recognize how this job will help you. Is this job going to be meaningful to you or are you stacking shelves? Is this job going to help you grow or are you cleaning tables? Is this a job you like to be at or do you feel out of place in your work area?

The next step is job hunting. You can ask friends and family about any jobs they know of first. You can walk around to places and ask if they are hiring but if it’s your first job, you might be nervous so some reliable websites that can help you find a job include Monster, CareerBuilder and Glassdoor.

There are many free job interviewing workshops that you can find online or in public libraries. You can also have friends and family interview you to practice for the real job interviews. To make sure your answers flow comfortably and easily, get a lot of practice and truly know your answers.

3. Acquire a Grown-up Wardrobe

Clothes may seem like a weird thing to add to this list, but having a versatile wardrobe is necessary as an adult. For example, having a professional wardrobe will increase your chances of making a good impression to your potential employer. Having an organized wardrobe is usually paired with having an organized life and therefore a sign of succeeding in adulthood.

When clothing mishaps happen, your mom is not going to be there when you are “adulting.” You want to be ready so take a few laundry, ironing, and sewing lessons from your parents… or YouTube.

4. Stay Informed

Being an adult means you have more power in society. As an adult, you have more responsibility to be an active member of society. It’s crucial to stay informed of the issues affecting your local community and participate in the democratic process. If you can’t buy a subscription to a newspaper or spend hours watching your local news station, take some time out of your day to watch a one minute YouTube video on current news. Perhaps look over Google’s news trending page. Many media outlets have a website that you can glance to keep informed about what’s going on in the world. This includes Associated Press, The Economist, The Nation, The Weekly Standard and The Los Angeles Times.