Coming+of+Age+Tiras

(Wo)Man VS. BoyGirl Many people have different interpretations on what it means to be a man or woman compared to being a boy or girl. Becoming an adult is when you are able to fend for yourself and you prove to others, but most importantly yourself that you know right from wrong and are able to make mature decisions. Personally, I still consider myself a boy because I would have a very difficult time surviving without my parents; however, but you will hear all kinds of sayings on what it means to be an adult. For example, people have said that if you want to be an adult you are not allowed to cry, like the song, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” which I think is totally false because all people need to cry sometimes. Sometimes, when you are younger and you want to hang out with the older kids but your parents or other adults might tell you if you want to be an adult you can’t behave like a kid anymore. I do not feel like there is an exact point when you become an adult. Instead, I think it is something that you build upon and when you start to realize things differently. There is no barrier between being a boy/girl and being a man/woman, but it is more that everyone is born a child and becoming an adult just gets added to your attributes. The truth is that all adults still have their inner child inside of them. Your childhood is something that you are not able to get rid of when you get older. Your childhood is made up of memories that you never forget and they will always be apart of you. If I were to take a survey and ask random adults that past me by when they felt they became adults, I

think most people would not even know exactly when unless their religion has a ritual in becoming an adult. I know a lot of adults that sometimes still act like children. For instance, my dad can behave pretty childish at basketball games for the University of Hawaii, like when there is a bad call my dad will yell at the referee so much when bad calls are made. Sometimes he gets so upset that I feel a little embarrassed when he is yelling. My dad even will play video games with me sometimes, which is not seen as a mature activity. I do not think that you can draw a line between what it means to be a child or an adult. I think that childhood and adulthood are two of the same thing. The only difference is what you develop and learn throughout your life, which makes adulthood different. Even though the person that you are as a child may appear so different from the person that you are as an adult, the truth is that you are the same person and have the same thoughts and memories. Hopefully, as I so through life and learn more, I may know what it means to be an adult, but I will never forget the person I once was and will never change who I am. All adults were once children and they all know what it means to be a kid and have learned how to behave like so called, “adults.” Why is so much better to be an adult than a child anyway? I mean I have seen all these cultures with different rituals for going into adulthood, but why are kids so anxious to be an adult? What makes life as an adult so much better than life as a kid. Personally I think life as a kid is better than life as an adult because there are less responsibilities, less worries, and I find childhood more fun. But maybe I am not one to say which is better because I have not really experienced being an adult, but I am going to remain a boy as long as possible.