The Factors That Make Us Adults

There are three main events that impact how we will live as adults; high school, early post high school years and everything else. Of these three, only one has a lasting impact on our worldview. Problems arise when this principle is ignored, placing greater importance on the other two.

The first event that shapes our thinking is high school. Significant because it takes place during early stages of adulthood. Being young and still pliable, the four years spent in high school can be critical in the development of a young adult. Relationships are built, some last a lifetime, others forgotten shortly after graduation. Ideas about the world are formed in young minds. The foundations for adult living are laid down. Significant as these formative years are, they are only four short years. The power of these four years is diminished each year following high school.

The second series of events that influences a young adult are the years immediately following high school. Similar to high school, only with more freedom. It is during these years that a person begins to think about what it means to be an adult. Questions like: What career to explore?, Who to marry, if at all? and Where to live? Are just some of the issues dealt with during this time. Some will go to college, some to the military and others trade schools or apprenticeships. All have a part in shaping our thinking as adults. Just like high school these are a few short years, the importance being lessened by the passing years.

How do we become the adults that we are? It is not what we learned in high school. It is not what happened post high school. Though these are important and have some influence on our thinking, the effect is only minimal at best. It is everything else that life throws at us that has a lasting effect. The career or jobs we choose to work at influences how we see the world. Marriage, who and how we marry, certainly is a factor in dealing with life issues. The importance of marriage is simply this: for one person you matter. Whether your marriage is a success or not alsoforms a worldview. Children will cause a person to grow up a little bit. Suddenly there are other people, small helpless ones counting on an adult to help them grow.

Most of these issues are positive, yet there are always negatives. Unpleasant as they may be, they impact our thinking. The nature of the tragedies may effect our view of the world. Whether it is job loss or career change, marriage failure, loss of life, aging parents, all shape who we are. Depending upon a person's worldview, struggles either help or hinder our growth.

Obviously there are several elements that shape the mind of an adult. Yet unlike the previous two series of events, the third has a lasting impact. In high school learning occurred in a few short years. The same for those years immediately following high school. Life is not limited to a few lessons, or a set time, it is a daily process. The longer we live the more we learn. What happened in the past marginally effects the present, much less the future. Though it is fun to reminisce about the good old days of high school they are not who we are now.
Most are not anything like they were in high school. Personalities may be similar, but the difference is striking. What happened to bring about this change: simply life.

Those who refuse to move beyond high school are adults in body only. They do not know what it means to grow up and experience all that life has to offer. Life is not always pleasant, yet there are positives in most situations. Life is a journey to be enjoyed with family, friends and other adults. Everything we experience has the potential to influence our thinking, it is up to us to decide whether it is negative or positive. That is what being an adult is, taking what life gives us, developing and learning along the way.