Grow Up Have You Reached Adulthood? Depends On Who You Ask

How many times have you been told to grow up? Probably about the same number of times you’ve been told you’re growing up too fast.

If this confuses you, you’re not alone.

There are many contradictions when it comes to answering the question, “When are you an adult?”

Legally, you become an adult at the age of 18. Realistically, however, it’s a different story.

While 18 may be the magic number in the eyes of the law, it does not ring true in the minds of adults who were asked the same question. In fact, most adults I asked had a difficult time answering the question, and not one agreed that adulthood came at 18.

Several thought it came with a good job or having a baby, but most could not pinpoint the exact moment in their life.

Susan Duncan, a mother of three, said, “I guess it was a gradual process. It’s not like I woke up one morning and suddenly I was an adult.”

One teacher said adulthood is a never-ending process. “Every day I grow a little more, but when I think of all that I want to do as an adult, I realize that I will never stop growing.”

Although the question was difficult for grown-ups to answer, it wasn’t very difficult for teens. Teens had quick - and conflicting - responses.

Kevin Hinton, a freshman at University High, said you become an adult when you turn 18.

Megan Cordill, a senior at Cheney, said, “I’ll finally be an adult when I get out of my parent’s house and go to college.”

These were popular answers among teens. But some had different ideas.

David Janes, a senior at University, said adulthood begins “when you become self-sufficient.”

Nathan Holmes, a sophomore at University, said, “When you become mature.”

When exactly does that happen? Do you have to be mature to be an adult, or is the opposite true?

Many rules in society disagree on the issue of maturity and adulthood.

For example: You can drive a car before you can get into an R-rated movie by yourself. You can vote at the age of 18 on laws pertaining to alcohol and drunk driving, but you cannot drink. You can be sentenced as an adult for life in prison at the age of 15 for committing murder, but you cannot vote on the laws that sent you to jail.

The issue of trying teens as adults is a hot one. In a recent poll by Channel One, a news broadcast in schools, students were asked if they thought teens should receive the same punishment as adults for crimes they have committed.

Forty-nine percent of teens thought people who are at least 14 should be tried as adults for serious crimes and should get the same punishment as adults, no matter what the offense. Twenty-one percent said people under 18 should get lighter sentences.

So what does all this mean? When are you really an adult?

It depends on whom you ask.

Webster defines an adult as having attained maturity. That doesn’t help much. If anything, you are probably more confused than you were before.

Adulthood is not easily defined. Maybe that’s why the transition for teens and adults alike is sticky. No one knows exactly when it takes place. One day you could very well be just a kid, and the next you could be treated like an adult, depending on the circumstances.

So the next time someone tells you to grow up or that you’re growing up too fast, just remember they are probably as confused as you are.