It is an age old question. Just what defines an Adult? The legal age of majority in the United States is 18. The drinking age is 21. People can join the army and go to war at 18. Does any of that make them an adult? Is it age or something else? The definition of adult is: “One who has obtained maturity or a legal age” This seems to not leave any room for discussion, but the first part of the definition has room for question. To see what it means to be an adult one must look at maturity.

Maturity is the ability to handle adult situations without depending on others. Maturity seems to be the ability to pay ones bills and take care of the self without having to rely on anyone else to do it. Does this mean the millions of students who are in college are adults? They have reached the age of adulthood. The answer may be a simple: it depends. The student who takes their time on things, goes to class, studies, and is not distracted from what they need to do by drinking and partying. They are mature and are adults. It does not matter if they have a job or not. School is their job, another job would be a second job which many students do. It also doesn’t matter if when the work is done they let loose every now and then, many other adults do. However the students who are just there to party skip class and skate by. Those students are not adults no matter how old.

College isn’t the only example. There are many people who aren’t in college who need to question if they are adults or not. Some of these people are much older than expected. People who live off of others and never contribute anything do not act like adults. People who throw fits when things do not go their way, and people who expect the entire world to do what they want. None of these people act like adults.

Adulthood is more than the age. It is the ability to handle your family, your finances, and pick yourself back up when the worst happens. Adulthood is understanding that life will not go your way many times, it is being willing to give as well as take. Adulthood is so much more than an age it is also a state of mind.