Becoming An Adult Research Paper

Becoming an adult means a lot of different things. When one turns 18, they are allowed to purchase cigarettes or snuff and go to casinos. They can register to vote, and if they are male, register for the draft. At age 21, the purchase and consumption of alcohol is legal, college majors have been solidified, and for some people, families have been started. Surely by age 25, adulthood has set in. There are bills to pay, jobs to perform, and there are certainly responsibilities that extend beyond the day to day of childhood. As an adult, cleaning the kitchen suddenly becomes more important than watching the newest episode of Justified...sometimes. However, it is the loss of a parent that completes the transformation. Sure, you might already …show more content…
Whereas in the past, your mother was the one picking up your child from school and taking him to get ice cream while your dad worked every day with his hands to make sure your family had what you needed. Your parents were the ones you would go to when you had a questions about how to cook chicken tikka marsala or plant azaleas in your front yard. Now that they’re gone, what will you do when your car breaks down? You’ll have to call a mechanic and get a credit card because your dad can no longer check your oil on Saturdays, change your battery, or fix your brakes. It’s all on you and that is genuine adulthood: the phase of life when there is no longer a parent to take care of you, to fill the void, to be the …show more content…
You are the one that has to make it all okay. You are the one that has to discipline and entertain, but here is the difficult part, there is no one to model it for you. You can try to remember what happened that time you were thirteen years old and talked back to your mom. How did she handle it? While you seem to remember there were consequences, she was somehow able to induce fear without hitting you or screaming. It was that look in her eye that revealed her disappointment. You remember being sorry. And now, since you’re the one with the fifteen year old who thinks he is smarter than you, you have to figure out how to manipulate his feelings and incite dread. Perhaps you practice your “disappointed” face in the mirror, but that doesn’t seem very adult. It comes, though. The very next time your child is explaining to you why he must take another selfie with his tongue hanging out because, “Snapchat, gah!” before picking up his socks, it comes. You are filled with power and calm, poise and intimidation. He folds, and you know your mother is proud. You’re a reflection of her and it makes you cringe at first, but then you realize how immense her job was. She spent at least 30 years manipulating you, and you never even knew