Adulthood+Essay

Aubrey Yamamoto 2-1-11 P6 Childhood to Adulthood  Reaching adulthood goes beyond physical changes. Males and females need to have the same qualities to transition from childhood to adulthood. Both men and women need to be independent, confident, clean, and hygienic. They also need the right personality. Boys and girls, versus men and women, rely on other people to take care of them. They cannot live on their own because they do not know what steps to take to have a good lifestyle. I see boys and girls having different interests but the same traits. Boys are immature, hyper, mischievous, and silly. They are adventurous and like to use their imagination to play games like Batman or Superman. They also enjoy playing with toy guns or remote control cars/helicopters. Boys are usually the ones who get into trouble with adults rather than girls. Girls are more timid and enjoy playing with Barbies and other dolls. They idolize princesses and believe in fairytale endings. However, as boys and girls age, and hit their teenage years, their interests change. Teenage boys and girls usually gain their independence and like going off on their own. However, they still don’t know what the responsibility of a man or woman is like. Although they might see themselves as something more than a boy or a girl, they still have not crossed into adulthood. They are on their way, but they aren’t there. Once boys and girls learn how to respect other people and are on their path to building a lifestyle to support themselves is when they can be considered an adult. Until they have gained complete independence from their parents, they still are not fully a man or a woman.  Despite being a second semester senior, I still consider myself a girl. I have matured enough to realize that I have to be independent one day, and that my parents will not be around forever. However, I feel as if I lack the ambition and confidence to go out into the world on my own. To make my transition into womanhood, I will need to push myself into trying new things. I will get my driver’s license, find a job, and work until I can support a family of my own. But until I feel a wave of motivation to accomplish these goals, I will continue to consider myself a girl.  My sister, on the other hand, is a junior in college. She knows what she wants to do as a career, and is working on achieving her goals. Although she is independent and confident, she lacks the attitude a woman should have. Often times she will complain about a girl who she deems inferior to herself. To put herself on top, she puts others down. A woman should realize that insulting others does not make her better than anyone else, but in fact makes her the worst person. She should respect other people, especially those who are superior to her.  In a few years, hopefully I will become a little more ambitious. If not, I will force myself to take the first steps into womanhood so I will not be considered a girl throughout my entire life. Once I go through college, find my passion, and form a career around it I can become fully independent. I will be making my own income, so I will not need my parents to pay for everything. I can live according to my rules and make my own decisions. When people see that I am capable of living on my own, that’s when I will know that I am a woman.