How To Become An Adult

797 words | 3 mins 11 secs read time

As a child, I associated growing up with aging. If you were old enough to say, "Stay out of grown folks' business," you were an adult in my eyes. 

Later, I linked adulthood to a profession. I dreamed of becoming a ballerina, a lawyer, a physicist, an artist, a writer, an engineer, a baker/chef, and a scientist. I thought the achievement of one of these professions would usher me into adulthood. But then reality hit. I've met many professional "adults" in my lifetime who seemed anything but grown to me.

Science tells us that we don't have fully developed brains until we are 25 years old. Yet society slaps the "adult" label on us at 18. Suddenly, we can vote and sign contracts, but most 18-year-olds shouldn't be trusted with much beyond the ballot box.

So, if age, milestones, and legal definitions don't capture true adulthood, what does?