How do I learn things everyone else knows?

I (20F) had a very rough and neglectful childhood. Due to this, there were large chunks of my life where I did not attend school and/or could not pay attention due to what was happening around me.

I’m in college now, but don’t know much math, grammar, or spelling. I’ve somehow managed to be a damn good writer (I’m guessing it’s all the books I read) but I struggle spelling basic words. I couldn’t tell you what a verb or adjective is, where a semi colon or comma is supposed to go (I just use them based on what feels right), and I’d guess my math is at a 3rd grade level. I don’t even know my multiplication tables.

This is a great source of embarrassment and shame for me. Even just playing The NY Times games with my friends makes me want to cry. I genuinely enjoy those games, but it takes me 5 minutes to figure out something that’ll take them like 5 seconds. I’ll joke, make fun of myself, make light of the situation. But every “you don’t know that?” Or “you aren’t done?” comment makes me want to crawl into a ditch.

I guess this is just a long winded way of asking for advice on learning. I don’t want to feel dumb, I want to know, I just don’t know where to start.

Submitted September 02, 2025 at 01:24PM by PristinePreference88 https://ift.tt/Owft1Fp