As of writing this I have little under a month before I turn the age of 19 meaning that I have been a adult for almost a full year. What does that mean to me? Being an adult has not been what I have expected. I'm pretty sure that everyone as a child thought, if not intentionally, that adults have some sort of power or authority given by their age alone and that becoming an adult automatically gives you such abilities as knowing when a child would suffer the most if you refused him a cookie.
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| Fig 1: A Grand Influence to Us All |
When I became an adult I knew I would be handed a colossal amount of freedom and I was as prepared as someone can be for that. Granted my freedom didn't really begin until college, but even then, after the initial excitement wore off and I got used to it, I began to realize that there is still a lot I can't do. I can't rent a car until I'm 25, I can't go to a bar for a drink until I'm 21, and even right now, I'm in Seattle and I'm having trouble finding a place that I can go for a concert that will let me in. I find this a bit frustrating if nothing else. We are told that we reach adulthood at 18, but I think that is far from true. I don't think that adulthood is something you can really put a number on, but if you must I think things should at least be consistent.
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| Fig 2: And I'm pretty sure it has something to do with this. |
College has long since become the norm as the next step for graduating high school students which in my mind has socially become it's own stage in the first-world life. It's a time where you are out in the "real world" (a term I have always personally disliked) but also a time where most people are still reliant on their parents and use the word home to describe where they lived before school. That link is far from severed, or at least as severed as someone becomes from their parents in life.
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| Fig 3: Google Image Search, I could not ask for a better picture. |
I guess this style of life works for the most part. You slowly gain more responsibility and freedom from your parents throughout your childhood before getting a big lump of freedom with your "adulthood" and then once you're out of college your real adulthood begins but even then you're in your mid-twenties and people who are further into their adult lives might refer to you as "just a kid." So when the law says you're an adult it still doesn't give you all the privileges that most adults have, plus many others don't see you as an adult at all. To be blunt, what the hell, life?
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| Fig 4: "Not my problem," Life responds, reaching for another tequila. |
To me, adulthood isn't some arbitrary number, but rather a point in your life. High school is supposedly the time in one's life where they discover who they are as a person. I like to think of adulthood as the point where one comes to terms and becomes comfortable with who they are. By this definition there are many people out there who are significantly older that me number-wise, yet not an adult. I like to think that I am comfortable with myself as I think it is one of the most important parts of maturity. I suppose this brings me to my three maxims of life that pretty much cover everything for me.
1) Be Reasonable
2) Have Fun
3) Do Things That You Would Regret Not Doing
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| Fig 5: I suppose that works too... |
Back on what I hesitantly call the topic, no matter what age you are we are all in the same boat. While our elders may have been around longer than us, their experiences may likely be outdated in our rapidly changing society. Just ask almost anyone over the age of 40 to take a picture with a digital camera and you'll quickly see what I mean. That's not to say they can't help us through life, but it's been said many times that the only constant is change. We can, and should, all help each other get through life, but ignoring, or thinking less of, advice from someone based on their age is a stupid move. Life is too precious and has too much potential for enjoyment for us to be ignoring whatever help we can get to reach our goals.
Playlist of the Post:
1) L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah and the Whale
2) Novocain Stain - Modest Mouse
3) Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
4) Fuck Her Tears - Times New Viking
5) Mysteries - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
