Integration Paper : Young Adults Essay

There is a moment in every child’s life where he or she realizes that growing up is not as desirable as they once thought. Before this moment they fantasize about not having a bedtime or driving or finally being able to drink. But then they feel the weight of the adult world with its responsibilities and restrictions of a society that doesn’t value the individual and expects its citizens to morph into mature, controllable adults. This is the time parents hate, the time when their children try to rebel or run away to escape their future as adults, but time, alas, cannot be outrun. The adult world expects many things of its inhabitants—a job, a family, taxes, sex, and much more. Unfortunately, most young adults feel as though they will be

Young adults have not learned how to go about finding a job, which is an issue (Brooks 2). Previous adults who have had to learn on their own have had a rough start to the rest of their lives. Adulthood has changed in the recent years, making the transition to adulthood more drawn-out and problematic, pushing back important milestones of adulthood such as marriage, childbirth, and the beginning of a life-long job (“UT professor looks at challenges adults face” 1). True adulthood may be described by some as “a patchy and protracted route with many pitfalls and delays to be contended with along the way” (Wells 1). Young adults often question themselves if they’ve become an adult yet. Jonathan Wells states “Yes, I’m legally being able to buy a box of fireworks, but I’m still not above shooting them into other people’s yards” (2). However, if this class became available for high school students, it would allow them to learn how to get a job, apply for college, and other related

It is difficult to tell exactly when youth ends and adulthood begins. For many it is a prolonged process that ultimately culminates when heightened responsibility is accepted. The influence of a formal education is invaluable, yet for any individual to fully take on the challenges that this new stage of life offers, the initiative of voluntary personal change must also be engaged. For me, this change was signaled when I became a lifeguard.

Emerging adults have reached a step up from childhood but are not yet ready to fully take on adult responsibilities. This part of life is open to many new experiences which can be very good for the morality of this upcoming generation of adults. People find themselves changing majors in college or taking different classes to explore their interests and find out where they best belong in their future career field.

As a young person moves from childhood into adulthood there are many changes that they will face with freedoms, rights and responsibilities. These may include changes in their

Choice – Young people often feel powerless to control their lives and fall into a self-defeating cycle of

Life is what you make it as we go through life’s journey. We all have different experiences that are unique to us individually. “Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.” - Virginia Satir. There are typical aspects of our journey that are similar, but different; we share commonalities along the way with others. In life, we will face challenges that bring about change, which is what happens to us along the way when we are younger, and it makes us who we are when we are older. Change is the opposite

Although one may think with maturity come freedoms the responsibilities of adult life can be limiting and have adverse effects on life.

In most environments it is customary for the older generation to aspire to transmit values and accepted norms to the next generation. Adults take pride in the responsibility they feel to educate young people. This effort facilitates maturity and helps develop youth into successful members of the already established society. As young people mature, they become more independent thinkers and begin to evaluate the society in which they inhabit. This inspection can produce some angst in young people and concern from adults. It is in these formative moments and years that young people search for truth - not one that they inherit, but rather one they can call their own. As a consequence of this purposeful, natural, and necessary reflection, individuals

As an adolescent, I became fascinated by people and their individual life choices. Over the years, I would spend hours listening to friends and family discuss their anxieties, decisions, and stressors. I was extremely interested in the complexities of being human, learned behaviors, and family dynamics. Never satisfied with a simple answer, I sought out explanations and reasons for certain behaviors. I knew I had to find a way to make this fascination both a career and a life.

There is no doubt that there are many things that can contribute to a young, emerging adult’s wellbeing. The theory that prompted research on young adults distinctive characteristics, in other words,

Another major issue for young adults is that early adulthood is a time of decisions. During this time they must choose a career and possibly a college. They also must choose a mate and start to worry about their future. For many, they take this time to think about many possibilities and make the best possible decision after a lot of consideration. Forrest does not treat these

From adolescence to late adulthood, our lives change drastically. Our goals, achievements and conceptions of life differentiate as we mature. As we grow older, we no longer concern ourselves with self-identity or the opinions of others, but instead we focus on our accomplishments and evaluate our life (if we lived a meaningful life). From adolescence to late adulthood, we experience different developmental tasks at a particular place in our life span.

There are five key features that characterize emerging adulthood. The first s identity exploration. The second is “Instability.” For many the instability is a result of residential changes such as living in a dorm. There is also instability in friendships, romantic relationships, academia, and work. Emerging adults have few obligations, responsibilities, and commitments. Because they have so much autonomy in controlling their own lives the third key feature is “Self-Focused.” One of the most difficult

Through our weekly discussion of Adult Development and studying Erik Erickson’s theories of development, allowed me to gain great insight to human development. In our reading Erik points out that “adults seek to accomplish goals that make them feel they have made a difference in the world. This is the payoff stage in which we can use the personality that we’ve developed to achieve our occupational, social and personal goals. We gain a sense of fulfillment from those accomplishments but also seek additional satisfaction through mentoring younger generations.” (Witt & Mossler, 2010, p 9). This is truly where I am in my life right now. Growing up as a child I always dreamed of becoming a doctor one day. As I got older and became a part of numerous debate teams, student government associations groups and community advisory boards, my interest changed to law school. When I became a wife and a mother, I developed the nurturing spirit and I wanted to become a nurse. Looking back at where I was and where I am now I am seeking career satisfaction in my life. I am struggling with generatively versus stagnation. I do not feel I am useful in my career achievement and that is why I am seeking to better my