I’m currently lying on my floor, next to a bowl of mashed potatoes, while my Adele album plays in the background and I neglect all of my responsibilities. My thoughts are wandering from school stress to student loans to the fact that I eventually have to grow up one day. One crucial question crosses my mind: When do you officially become an adult?
In some cultures, a man or a woman will turn as young as 13 and officially become an adult, taking part in rituals affirming their place in society. Like the coming of age ceremony in the Apache culture in which you take part in multiple hours of dancing, prayer and lessons in self-esteem, sexuality and healing. Or turning 15 in the Baha’i culture in which you are spiritually an adult and can start obligatory prayer and fasting. In American culture, however, we have no such thing. Instead, we try to seamlessly transition from high school to college and eventually to the workplace without trying to majorly screw anything up.
Some may argue that we officially become an adult once we graduate from high school. We have finally passed the age of 18 and can both officially drive and vote. We have the chance to enjoy the freedoms of life, live on our own, remove ourselves from the watchful eyes of our parents and decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives. In a lot of cultures, these are seen as huge responsibilities, ones that not any normal teenager would be able to handle. However, there are some things that we cannot do at the young age of 18. These include things like renting a car, taking out loans without a co-signer, legally drinking or buying a weapon in some states. Instead, we must wait until we are 21 or even 25 in some cases.
When you finally transition past your high school years a lot of people may want to see themselves as adults. But, unless you consider “adulthood” to be eating dino chicken nuggets at three in the morning and altering your drinking habits based on how the Badgers play, that probably isn’t the case. Yes, in college you have a large amount of responsibility. You also have to worry about budgeting your time, staying involved and still remember to grocery shop so you don’t starve, but I don’t think you have yet reached the cusp of adulthood.
The dictionary defines adulthood as “having attained full size and strength,” which I hope is not the case considering I am 6’4”, still growing, and have the physical strength of a 60-year-old man. To me, adulthood means something different, something that strays away from any civil, professional or cultural reasoning. Instead, I see adulthood as something more personal, something that you decide. I know that I am not ready for adulthood; I want to continue making irresponsible decisions and drinking wine on a Wednesday night when I know that I should be doing better things. I know that adulthood for me is going to come when I finally graduate from a school where I’ve had the four best years of my life and enter the workplace.
This is not to say that I won’t have more good years as an adult. Instead, they are going to be the years where I can hunker down and focus on things like family, careers and the stock market. Whether you want to start adulthood in your early twenties or your late forties, the decision is all yours. So, if you’re like me and have no idea who Dow Jones is and have no idea what career path you want to take, don’t fret, because maybe you haven’t quite reached adulthood yet. Conversely, if you are a stock market genius, know what a mortgage is, have names for your three children picked out and are ready for adulthood, then more power to you. Because, although we may not want to admit it, there will come a time when we have to take off our animal onesies, trade in the Capri-sun for a scotch and start that trek into the new life called adulthood.
Cal is a sophomore majoring in political science and communication arts. Do you agree with his perspective? Please send all comments, questions and concerns to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
