The Transition to Adulthood as a Fifteen-Year-Old
The transition to adulthood always seemed to be some momentous or celebratory event; something which everyone should be able to look forward to. While that's what is brought to mind when the transition is brought up, that isn't always the reality. I became an adult more than ever as a 15-year-old in the second semester of my freshman year.
My grandfather, the only male role model I've ever had, has always been crucial to my development as a person. He taught me how to scuba dive, how to treat others, and he sparked my passion for history and politics. Without him, there is no way to know who I would have become. However, in February of 2013, he went on a diving trip with his best friend to Honduras. My grandfather is a diabetic and had a callous on his right foot. Despite his doctor's assurance that he could safely dive, my grandpa got an infection on one of his toes.
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Over that February, both my grandma and mother stayed with him through much of the process. I, on the other hand, was home alone trying to succeed in school. It was over this February where I gained an adult's level of maturity. I was intentionally left out of the conversation to protect my emotions. However, being shielded from it all only made it worse because I was left with nothing but assumptions and fears. I later found out that my grandfather nearly died during the whole ordeal, and I wouldn't have known otherwise. The only male role model in my life nearly left this world while I a mere 15 years old, and I was
the most part. These years in a persons life have often been referred to as emerging adulthood.
In my first developmental assessment, Nicole (client) was 17 years old and identified as female, Caucasian and bisexual. She was seeking treatment to address issues related to anger, fear of abandonment, and impulsive and destructive behaviors (i.e. physical aggression, cutting, purging, sexual reactivity, and suicidal ideation). During adolescence, she received ADHD and bipolar diagnoses and showed borderline personality traits. She had been hospitalized on numerous occasions and at the time of the initial assessment, Nicole resided in an adolescent treatment center. This paper will identify normative developmental milestones from young adulthood to late, late adulthood and will analyze Nicole’s life according to these milestones. Therapeutic interventions for Nicole during young adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood, and late, late adulthood will also be discussed.
Adolescence is the transitional period in a persons life time that links childhood and adulthood. The factors that influence development during adolescence include genetic/biological and environmental/social. There are many developmental issues that take place during the transition from an adolescent to a young adult. The issues of emerging adulthood(18-25) are characterized by new experiences, experimentation, exploration as well as new developmental tasks.
For the youth transitioning out of foster care it is important to develop stable, healthy and strong relationships when shifting into adulthood. A lot of youth look for these types of relationships by reconnecting with their biological parents, family or extended relatives. Other alternatives when their biological family seems to present more harm than help can be foster parents, professional staff and other youth. Mentoring transitioning youth has become a potential way to meet many of their crucial needs. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 provides support for transitioning youth out of foster care including mentoring and other services that are federally funding. Ideal improvements
This article was on a study that compared developmental trajectories of non-students, versus college-educated young adults, on the aspects of Arnett’s theory of emerging adulthood (Mitchell & Syed, 2015). However, there is a large group that literature has not been explored, and that category is on the young teen/adults who choose to not attend college, or are unable to because of socio economic status (Mitchell & Syed, 2015). The emerging adulthood theory has been controversial. The controversial topic has been brought up by researchers questioning how non-students may not experience the development of other emerging adults based on their interests to pursue adulthood without attending postsecondary education. The aim of the study was intended to compare emerging adulthood among individuals with college degrees, some college, and no college (Mitchell & Syed, 2015). Arnett’s development tasks for emerging adulthood include: finding a reliable and satisfying career, choosing a partner and starting a family, and establishing financial independence (Mitchell & Syed, 2015).
Later adulthood is the time in life when changes in marriage, families, and peer relationships are affected the most by the loss of someone close to that person. “Most people 70 years of age or older are widowed, divorced, or single” (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010, p.619). Losing a spouse or close friend can create a sense of loneliness, which causes depression, anxiety and the emptiness feeling can become overwhelming. Depression also leads to psychological effects that will deteriorate a person’s health causing the chance for a terminal disease to become much higher. The weaker appearance of older adults causes family and remaining peers to step up in the role of making sure the person’s wellbeing is being met. (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Living accommodations and healthcare needs
The transition to adulthood is an important area of research because of the multitude of changes that are experienced after adolescence, including the changing achievement goals, values, and aspirations that many young adults face. In your discussion post discuss significant physical, cognitive and other related life changes that impact adults during this particular stage in life.
As a child, I did not have many friends, I was bullied throughout my entire childhood which caused me to shut most of the world out. I began to seclude myself from everything and everyone, except my grandfather. My grandfather quickly became my security blanket, my shoulder to cry on, and my best friend. He spent most of his time comforting me and telling me that I was too precious for this world. After a while, I began to believe those words and my confidence grew immensely. However, at the raw age of thirteen, my grandfather was diagnosed with stage three brain cancer and was given only a year to live. At that point, everything started to decay for me. I did not care about anything anymore, whether that was school, my family, or myself.
Some might say that their transition into adulthood happens when they turn eighteen, as if something magically changes overnight. Being an adult consists of a more mature way of thinking and being able to overcome difficult situations. In my case, there have been several events throughout my life that, unbeknownst to me at the time, were a part of my transition into adulthood. These events would go on to include the birth of my brother and how my family moved forward in light of numerous difficult circumstances. At the time, I never saw taking care of my brother as anything particularly life changing, until recently when I was faced with having to deal with my father leaving. It was then that I realized taking care of my brother taught me much more than just babysitting
It comes as no surprise, in that, people should be considered adults at the age of 18 by reason of legally speaking, being considered an adult and additionally, I don’t think a few people should be considered adults at the age of 18. I believe being considered an adult could perhaps depend on your level of development, mixed with your preceding insight on life skills. I suspect it fluctuates from person to person as every person develops variously throughout life. During the thought-provoking time of emerging adulthood, young individuals generally have the ability mettle into the level of education that will aid them throughout the remainder of their working adult lives. For various people this is a time of transformation and intensified changes
The transition from childhood to adulthood is a defining phase in the lives of many people. For some, it involves tradition and celebration; while for others it occurs in a defining moment. For me, the transition was a gradual process involving growth through leadership in middle school and high school.
Becoming an adult for me has meant gaining a better understanding of who I am and what is important to me and discovering the type of person I would like to become. This process has allowed me to celebrate my strengths, accept my weaknesses, and commit myself to making a difference in the world. The challenges I have faced include overcoming my working memory issues and discovering what I am good at and what I most enjoy.
Currently, I have several supports that are helping me transition to adulthood. These supports come from Saint Ambrose, my friends, and family. Personally, most of these support systems have had a positive impact on my development; however, other’s support systems may not have had a positive impact on their development.
A major event in my life that marked my transition to adulthood was the summer of my 9th grade year when I was accepted into a pre-college program called the Young Scholars Program offered at the University of Maryland. Upon arrival they told us you are a college student working for college credit, which scared me because this experience was totally foreign to me. This program had a class called CMSC 198B: Computer Science– A Hands off Approach. This class was an eye opener because I had no indication on what computer science was at the time. I lived on campus with over 100 different students, we were all taking classes there for the summer to gain more educational experiences beyond high school. I was alone without any friends or family for the first time in my life. This was also the first time I had done
For this paper, I had the privilege of interviewing one of my friend’s grandmother. Her name is Jamie Hansen and she is a healthy and active 68-year-old grandmother. In the beginning of the phone call, I asked some basic background knowledge questions such as how many grandkids she has and if she was a widower or not. I found out that she and her husband are happily married and that she has six grandchildren. As I got to know her more I started asking questions that pertained to the interview aspect of social theories. I figured out that Mrs. Hansen’s responses led to an application of the continuity and socioemotional selective theories.