Listen, just this morning I paid a penalty of $100 because I set aside a bill for a toll (a $6.50 bill) and then forgot to pay it. I'm not great at my finances either, but I don't derive self worth from my ability to budget. If it bothers you, that's a skill you can learn. There are apps to help, as well as books, even financial consultants who can help, depending on how badly you want to learn.

Regarding dating, go on Tinder and OkCupid and Match.com and swipe right or send a message (or a dozen). Meetup is another good way to meet people with a little less pressure. Dating is hard. It takes a lot of effort to meet people, especially if you're not a social butterfly. When I make an effort to date people, I'm on various dating apps every single day, sending and replying to messages, swiping left a lot (I guess I'm picky). You have to commit to it. But if you do, you can meet people. Sometimes it just takes time.

I'm not sure about school. It could be that you're in the wrong field, maybe you'd be better suited to different courses, maybe your professors' teaching style doesn't work for you. I don't know. Sometimes people aren't great at book learning. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them.

I'll let you in on a little secret. I have terrible social anxiety. I feel awkward all the time, my mind goes blank, I think everyone is looking at me like I'm a weirdo. There have been numerous occasions where I hid in the bathroom and cried because I was so uncomfortable. So what did I do? I bought a motorcycle, and joined a motorcycle club, and forced myself to go to their social events. Events where I often cried in the bathroom. But it got easier, and I met new people, and just last month I went on a camping trip with 20 other women, all but 3 I'd never met before (and those 3, I'd literally only introduced myself and said nothing else). I spent 48 hours in the company of complete strangers. But I did ok! I talked to people, I don't think I came across as a weirdo, and actually the club's founder and I have a mutual friend and he later told me she said I kicked ***. I felt really awkward a lot of the time but to at least one person I came across as cool.

I tell you this to illustrate that 1) you never know how you come across to other people so you're probably being too hard on yourself 2) if you keep practicing whatever it is you're bad at, you'll get better and it'll get easier and 3) I'm like the most socially awkward person ever and even I have friends and get dates.

Believe me, I've been where you are. I felt sure that no one loved me and I was doomed to failure and things would never get better. I know it seems so real in your mind. But I'm bipolar, so sometimes I come out of the depression, and I can see how distorted my thoughts were. You might not have the luxury of those moments of clarity but believe me. A lot of what you're feeling - the lack of confidence, the sense of failure - are just cognitive distortions. And the rest, like school and your finances, are things you can work on. Nobody is prepared for adulthood. There's a lot that you have to learn on the fly. But don't assume because you don't know it yet that means you can't figure it out or that you're deficient in some way.

All I can tell you is keep trying. Keep studying, ask people on dates, download Mint or something so you can keep track of your finances. Do your best to ignore your inner critic because that guy's an a$$hole. If you really push yourself to master some of these things you have trouble with, you can prove the inner critic wrong.