Jackie Kay - Owl Essay examples

When should someone be considered a responsible adult? In many cases this is a hard question to answer. Most people believe that the ages between 18 and 21 is when a person should be considered a responsible adult. The laws and society are sending mix messages to teens and adults around the world. In the article “What Is The Age Of Responsibility?” say that the world expects the youth to grow up fast put restrictions on them. The world need to make up their minds on when someone is considered a responsible adult.

To be a grown-up means to make mature decisions that not only benefit you, but the people around you. You also have to be prepared for whatever challenges come ahead in life, as you are now ready to live independently. You know when you are an adult because you will be making your own decisions, paying your own bills, and providing for yourself. One might refer to growing up as a ‘journey’ because growing up is a tough, slow process, similar to how a journey is also a tough, slow process that ends with a final destination.

Before we continue, we should discuss what maturity is. According to Wikipedia, the definition of maturity is “ a psychological term used to indicate that a person responds to the circumstances or environment in an appropriate and adaptive manner.” This response is generally learned rather than instinctual, and is not determined by one's age. Maturity also encompasses awareness of the correct time and place to behave, knowing when to act with appropriate emotion for the situation. Maturity incorporates personal accountability, meaning you take ownership of situations you are involved in. By following one’s conscience, you are taking personal accountability.

Evolving towards adulthood is certainly difficult at times. It is remarkably complex due to the fact that adolescents are taught so many different lessons simultaneously, causing it to be too overwhelming when trying to make the right decisions. It makes this process even more complicated knowing there are many different views on what is right and wrong. Two great examples of this confusing, but worthy, journey reside in the lives of the protagonists of two classic novels. The first being Pip in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, a novel in which a young boy describes his life as he's developing. And the second is Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel that’s told from a young girl’s perspective as her father tries to prove a man innocent after being unjustly accused of rape. Both authors do a splendid job showing the process of the characters’ maturity from when they were children, to when they are adults. The two characters face a few similar situations, while at the same time learning a great deal throughout the novels. They do this until they finally reach the final stage of maturity.

Being an adult is the number one thing that children want to be: The desire to get older to do things that you want when you want and having no one say otherwise. However, what is an adult? An ambiguous term that really falls into the hands of the individual, where at Sixteen you can drive, eighteen you can vote, and twenty-one you can drink, for those in the USA, all varying ages that individuals could use as indications of adulthood. Robin Heinig wrote and article “What is it about 20- somethings?” where she discusses Arnett’s proposal about a new developmental stage, “Emerging Adulthood”. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American professor in psychology, believes that we aren 't entering adulthood till the later portions of our twenties. For some, this may be true but for the general population including myself I find this hard to believe. Leo Hendry’s article, “How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example”, on emerging adulthood gives a deeper understanding to what this generation 's kids are going through. The late teens are a crucial part to the lives of a young adult. It 's the time that we spend trying to identify ourselves, escape the circumstance that we are put into at a younger age, or just had a better family income. Arnett is not wrong, but all other external factors need to be accounted for before we know, or even consider if emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage.

What does it mean to be an adult? But then again, what does it mean to be a child? An adult is one who is seen as responsible and independent while a child is the complete opposite, dependent on others and irresponsible to the point where it became ridiculous. Yet, what about those who are in a limbo between both adult and child and shows both of these characteristics, because in the position of a young adult, they are somewhere in between since they look old but might still have a couple thoughts those of a child might have. They still do not have all of the responsibilities an adult might have but they don't have as much freedom as a child might have. This is where Holden Caulfield

“You’re going to have to grow up sometime” something my mother still says to me now, even having turned 21 this year. I feel grown up simply because of my age but am I truly? Sure, the exciting times of living on your own, staying up as late as you want, and voting would qualify you as a grown up but honestly being an adult can be a bit of a bummer sometimes. Responsibilities, jobs, and bills; they’re all inevitable. However, we are fortunate enough to experience nostalgia or remember ‘the good old days’, reminiscing on events that remind us of childhood, a time when you hardly had to worry about anything other than your mom finding out that you got your brand new pants dirty after she told you not to wear them outside to play. But it’s hard

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.” -C.S. Lewis. We all have had experiences that bring about growth and maturity; the clear line that separates us from childhood to adulthood. The shift from childhood to adulthood happened for me when I started having my own opinions and my own outlook on life. You can always be traced back into your life, in the events that shaped your perspective of the world.

Legally when you turn eighteen, you are considered to be an adult. Although this is prevalent, many eighteen year olds are still treated as immature children. Not yet being eighteen, and knowing I still have two years till I “reach maturity”, I personally feel I have matured more quickly than others my age. When I am stressed, delighted, or infuriated I feel as though I handle all manners and emotions at a mature level. In my life, my level of maturity goes unnoticed due to my age.

In modern society one of the most important aspects of one’s life is crossing the threshold into adulthood. So at what age, or perhaps at what stage of life, is adulthood granted? Depending on the culture it could be decided by marriage, age, military service, or even religion.

What does it mean to be an adult? Does accountability make a person an adult? Does learning and improving on past experiences make someone an adult? Will caring for one’s self make somebody an adult? These are all small pieces to the puzzle but there is more to an adult then being a self-reliant, hardworking individual that pays their bills on time. In my opinion, you can be sixteen years old and be classified as an adult or twenty eight years old and not be an adult. Being an adult means that you are responsible, mature, and independent.

A quote often used by the older adults and said to the younger adults,“When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge. You may already be on it. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind. The bridge is made of wood. As you cross, it burns behind you” (Gail Carson Levine, Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly). A person is an adult and no longer a child when he or she is responsible for their actions. Even when they are responsible are they truly mucher? There is no telling whether a person is an adult at 18 or 21, it's no one's chose but your brains.

True maturity in itself is thinking thoroughly about your actions ahead of time before you do them and of the effect, it could have on yourself and another subject in the upcoming future. According to Ages & Stages, “The stages of an individual are the baby, toddler, preschool, childhood, adolescent and adulthood stage. The baby stage ranges from zero months until the age of one. The toddler stage lasts from two to three years of old. The preschool stage is four to five years old. The stage of childhood is six to ten years old. The stage of adolescence is twelve to eighteen years old. The stage of adulthood is nineteen years old and above.” An adolescent can also be referred to as a teenager. The text Convicted at 14 discusses maturity. This topic comes into play when he references two killings that happened in Florida. One of the killings was committed by a child the age of twelve and the second killing was committed by a young teenager the age of fourteen. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, alludes to maturity. The topic of maturity is implied when a group of children finds themselves stranded on an island after a plane crash. In other words, a common outlook conveyed by these texts is that in each one of the writings, the children are tried or tested as adults. In both of these pieces of literature, children are depicted as irresponsible, despite the fact that children appear to be fully grown, they are currently progressing and still have plenty to learn.

The girl’s inner characterization resembles a coming of age character. She develops because of the action and her traits as a child are presented in contrast with her traits as a teenager. This contrast is emphasized using the third-person narrator at the beginning of

I recently heard a quotation from a pediatrician who was stating: “It is ten times more difficult being a child than an adult, due to the many possibilities and choices you ought to be making”. Now, my own thesis on this is, when you are a teenager, you can multiply the diffuculty by a factor of fifty. A lot of young people find it very strenous taking the last step towards adulthood and their own independence. Especially when you have parents that, unconsciously or not, do not allow you to do so.