Defining Adulthood

Defining Adulthood

Many parents try to shield their teenage children from the unfair facts of life. This idea is strange because the main reason people become adults is from their sad experiences. Experiencing the death of a loved one is usually the first sad experience children suffer through. It doesn’t take long to realize “Spot” isn’t coming back. My cat, Sonja, died and that is the first time I saw my father cry. Later on, at the age of sixteen my grandmother passed away; I saw her in the coffin and I realized what death was. The idea of dying – the death of loved ones, friends, oneself – is a frightening fact everyone must accept and live with. I have also felt the need to comfort others; my high-school friend died and I was in a position to ease the pain my other friends experienced. We had to work together and find a way to move on from the grief. Another painful experience that brings on adulthood is disappointment. Many teenagers cope with college rejection, limited job opportunities, and the burden of financial expenses. I took my ROTC scholarship being declined hard; I had to make other college choices with a limited budget. I continue to survive with debts to pay every month. While I’ve had luck with employment, my working hours are retail and I don’t like working every weekend. But as an adult, I accept this second choice; even though I did not succeed in my first goal, I made a compromise and moved on. This paragraph stands as proof I’m continuing my education regardless of the circumstances I live in. However, the worst hardship to endure growing up is relationship failure. Over half of Americans endure divorce or separation. Not only does the couple deal with their own pain, their children also get involved and hurt. Most of my friends have stepparents; my mother never even met her father. Despite these large relationship and family breaks, my friends and mother do not use these events as crutches for failure; they find a way to accept these changes and grow up from them. In addition, young people have multiple times to experience pain during dating. I was in a long-distance relationship for three years when my boyfriend could not wait any longer. He started dating another girl and it shattered me. I spent most of my savings preparing to join him; I dropped out of school and work. I lost all ambition and motivation to better myself. But after a year, I started to piece my life back together and I felt more like an adult than I ever had before. My, like most other people, main reason for becoming an adult is the sad times I had to endure. Because of these hardships, I am stronger and I can cope with the real world my parents hid from me.