ADULTING

When Do You Become an Adult?

My struggles with feeling powerless at the age of 27

Modern-Day Adults | Picture of author (left) and his buddy; neither of them knows who took this picture

I was home from college for the holidays. I forgot what the cause of the argument was, but my uncle was yelling at me because it was late and I decided to go out. I think I was 19 or 20 at the time. His line, which he has used to torment me for the 10 years that I lived with him was, “you are not an adult. You cannot do what you want!” He said 18 is an age that gives you political rights, but it doesn’t make you an adult. I was confused.

You may understand. The average high school student’s dream is to turn 18 and be free from their parents’ leash. We think turning 18 (and then 21) will bring us closer to the better things in life.

Being older and knowing better, I’m telling myself, “what some idiots!” as I’m writing this. I learned the hard way that just achieving the ages of 18 and 21 does not bring you any closer to the better things in life.

Nonetheless, oftentimes when my parents were disciplining me as a teenager, they would say “you cannot do whatever you want. You’re not an adult. You have to wait until you’re 18 to be an adult.” So, naturally, I expected something to shift in me that would make me feel like an “adult” as soon as I turned 18 years-old.