Last week, my sister and I were on our way to Target when we got an alert that her car’s tire pressure was low. Now, this may seem silly, but this warning was foreign to the two of us. Growing up in Arizona, we never encountered something of the sort.

We pulled over and dialed my dad to ask if we should be concerned. Once he heard our dilemma, he quickly responded with, “Didn’t I teach you that?” The answer was no. He had not, in fact, taught us that.

We were able to resolve the situation, but it got me thinking about what else my parents had forgotten to teach me and my sisters.

I was never told that shrimp tails were not meant to be eaten. This is the perfect example of something that everybody seems to know. Now, this may be more of a judgment of myself than of my parents. Some may argue that removing shrimp tails is common sense. I believe it is a necessary lesson. I was not aware that these tails were not necessarily edible until about eighth grade.

One moment that stands out to me as extra humbling is the day I realized Alaska is not, in fact, an island. I understand that this sounds completely crazy. I suppose I never thought about it too hard.

The state is portrayed on all United States maps as floating out in the middle of the ocean. Why would I assume that it did not actually belong there?

I believe my parents should have let me know before I confidently stated that it was an island in a middle school geography lesson.

I called my sister to get some extra insight on what else I did not know. She informed me that she only learned how to change the air filter of a house a month ago. She also said that she was taken aback at a steakhouse recently when she realized she did not know how to properly order.

Additionally, she did not know how to cook meat until coming to college. I, however, managed to pick that skill up before leaving home.

I still do not know how to crack a lobster, pack lightly, use a meat thermometer, empty a vacuum, tie a tie, use a lawnmower or file taxes. Perhaps I can coerce my mom and dad into giving me a few lessons over the Thanksgiving holiday.

These are practical things that could have been covered in a single sentence, like, “Cold weather reduces tire pressure; avoid consuming shrimp tails; Alaska is not an island.”

While it would have been nice to hear these statements earlier in life, they are trivial concepts compared to the greater lessons I was taught growing up.

It is easy for small things to get lost in translation when focusing on the bigger picture. I think that my parents focused on teaching me concepts rather than specifics. I have a lot of appreciation for that.