Growing Up: The Truth Behind the Dream
Every child wants to grow up. I wanted it too. The closer you get to that age, the sooner you realize that being an adult is not as great as it seems. I will also explain why it’s not so great.
Chapter 1: Childlike Thinking
It is always said, “You want what you don’t have.” I have to agree with this because I feel it myself. When I was 4 to 6 years old, my urge to grow up was already huge. I wanted to drive a car and do whatever I wanted without anyone telling me what to do. Now I am almost an adult and realize that I was wrong — being an adult is no fun. Childlike thinking consists of the rules they have to follow. Children are still pure of mind and love adventures and discovering things. For a child, growing up seems like the ultimate goal because then all the rules are lifted; they can eat sweets whenever they want or go to bed whenever they want. Children are completely blinded by the concept of “freedom” and don’t see what’s coming. But what is coming?
Chapter 2: The Problems of Adults
There are many problems that apply to some and not to others. Various factors for this are origin, place of residence, race, body type, intelligence, and much more. Let’s start with the problem that most adults have: money! Money is almost the biggest problem a person can have. Most of those reading this are probably from a relatively wealthy western country. That means for many it is normal to pay 1–2 euros for a Coke. Of course, this is not a problem for a person with a western salary, but it is crazy for people with a lower income. Let me give you an example. I was recently on vacation in Serbia. Serbia is nowhere near as rich as the country I live in. This means that the prices are more adjusted to the salary of the local residents. There, a Coke costs about 50 cents. The prices are extremely low in relative terms. Purchasing power is also different. Let’s take the Coke example: 500ml of Coke costs 1.20 euros in my country, 50 cents in Serbia. Here, the average monthly salary is 2500 euros; in Serbia, it is 588 euros. This means that a Coke in Austria costs 0.00048% of the salary. In Serbia, however, a Coke costs 0.00085% of the salary. This means an average Austrian can buy 2083 bottles of Coke in Austria, whereas a Serb can only buy 1176 bottles of Coke in Serbia. This means in their own countries, an Austrian has double the purchasing power. But if a Serb is in Austria, he can only buy 490 bottles, and an Austrian in Serbia can buy 5000 bottles. It boils down to the fact that place of residence and wealth are huge issues that occupy adults. I believe I don’t need to explain race; it is unfortunately still the case that being white is an advantage. Also, things like origin need no explanation. Also, the tax office is constantly on your back. The list could go on and on. The fact is, most adults wish they could be children again because all these problems didn’t exist back then.
Chapter 3: The Advantages of Being an Adult
In adult life, there is often an “I can, but I shouldn’t” mentality. This means you can do anything, but you shouldn’t do some things. A good example: “I can take drugs, but I shouldn’t.” This thinking is an advantage of being an adult because it proves rational thinking. Children often do silly things without thinking rationally before doing them. This often leads to injuries, etc. You also have many more rights and are not dependent on anyone. Life as an adult can definitely be fun if you have attributes like money; without that, it is pure torture.
Chapter 4: Conclusion
Being an adult can be great but also bad; it depends on what position you start from. However, being a child can also be great and nightmarish. Therefore, it is impossible to draw a clear conclusion about whether children are right or wrong in their desire.
