Turning 18

Is 18 the age when someone should be considered an adult? In the article “ How Old Is Old Enough?” Catherine Rampell simplify answers the questions from the world's point of view, she says “ The answer, generally, is 18-the age when the United

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.

Most of the time, becoming an adult is planned. There are religious ceremonies, the gaining of a driver’s license, and other forms of new responsibility to signify the coming of age. Sometimes though maturity comes at you like a freight train. It comes at you in the blink of an eye and there is no stopping it once it hits you. You are forced to grow up and take on new responsibilities that you thought you wouldn’t have to take on until many years later. It's up to you though to decide what to do from there. You can either try and run away from the problems you have come to face or you can take the train head on and conquer what has been presented to you. I decided to face the train.

What does it mean to grow up? Growing up is when you find out how the world is and learn to cope and deal with it. Ann Landers explains what maturity is in her words. “Maturity: Be able to stick with a job until it is finished. Be able to bear an injustice without having to get even. Be able to carry money without spending it. Do your duty without being supervised.” This quote explains what maturity is and gives some examples that you have to go through in order to grow up. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird ,Dill, Jem, and Scout learn what it means to grow up.

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.

“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

To most, growing up would mean to increase in age, but it means something more than simply the number of years you have been alive. As you grow older, you would become mature, seeing what you would do in life, and knowing your limits. With increasing age, you would have more responsibilities. But, one can't always be mature. You might act like a teenager one day and a toddler the next. Growing up means to accept who you are, having your younger years with you, and to know your parents won't always be there to guide you.

“The Graduate” is a coming of age story as the film attempts to relay a message of an innocent boy being pushed in an unwanted direction through a society filled with expectations. It focuses on the development and the maturing of the young college graduate and his journey from being in the world of a child to adult. It captures what it is to be young, restless, skeptical and confused. It is reflective of a time when no one has any idea what the future has in store. It is Benjamin’s notion of the uncertainty of reaching adulthood, he struggles to accept this transformation and the idea of how frightening the future really is.

“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.

I entered into a co-dependent relationship with my husband Michael when we were both in high school rather than start a traditional adult life. I clung to him as a base of support and he accepted this role out of his personal desire to be needed. I would rely upon Michael to make major decisions. I still had not formulated

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.

Codependency is defined as; of or pertaining to a relationship in which one person is physically or psychologically addicted, as to alcohol or gambling, and the other person is psychologically dependent on the first in an unhealthy way. Codependency is a very broad term that can encompass a vast range of feelings and emotions but is always more focused on someone else. For instance, if someone goes to eat with a group of people but does not actively help in the decision making of where to eat, they are fine with where everyone else wants to go. They show a meek personally and would rather someone else make all the decisions.

There are many factors that constitute being an adult. An adult is much more than turning the age of 18. The definition in the dictionary states an adult means being completely grown: fully developed and mature. I think there is much more that defines an adult. In the United States an adult is considered to be someone who takes responsibility of themselves and their actions. An adult has stability in their life and is able to take care of themselves physically, mentally, financially and emotionally. In other countries and cultures there definition of an adult differs.

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.

When asked the question “When do you become an adult?” many people would give an age but in reality the answer isn’t that easy. To me adulthood is when you are able and willing to accept responsibility. If you cannot or will not be responsible, you have no right calling yourself an adult. What does make you a grown-up? Is it moving out of the house? Hitting a certain age? Having a relationship? Getting a job?” How is it that we can do. those things, that we consider to be “adult”, but we still feel like kids? Or that we feel like grown-ups, we're certainly old enough, but we haven't. seemed to have accomplished any of those things “grown-ups” have done? People never seem to quite understand the meaning of being an adult.” It has always seemed to me that age is irrelevant. You can be 12 and understand things better than a 30-year-old or you can be 40, have two PhD’s and still wonder if pigeons are migratory birds”.” Many people my age think that getting out of