Coming of Age: Another Step Into the Real World

As a little kid, all I had to worry about was recess and coloring inside the lines. Now that I have grown older I have come to realize that there are more important things to life. From my experiences, the older I have gotten the more freedom I have gained. With all that freedom also came responsibilities. I can no longer depend on everybody around me such as my parents and my friends. I need to rely on myself and be able to face the challenges that the world has to offer. To me, coming of age means to mature as a person in school, at home, and especially when it comes to money.

Only recently I have "Come of Age", which was the beginning of my high school career. Coming in as a freshman, I didn't know what to expect except that things were going to change. Going from middle school to high school was a big step up for me. There were a lot of exams and projects that helped shape me as a person. It helped me be more responsible for my own learning. Nobody was there to force me to study, instead I had to make my own choices and study by myself. I can't always rely on others to succeed. I was on my own when it came down to taking my exams or applying for the different activities around the school. High school, especially the meneMAC program, has helped me become a more responsible person and be a more independent learner.

Besides school, I have grown more mature at home as well. During the summer, I had a lot of chores that I needed to do. I noticed that I have more harder chores to do compared to when I was in middle school or even elementary school. If I wanted to go out then all my chores had to be done first. This taught me that all my privileges needed to be earned and not just handed out. If I want something, then I have to work hard for it. Life isn't always going to be easy and handed out on a silver platter like how it was in kindergarden. After the summer has ended, I know now that I have to gain my 'freedom'. Freedom meaning things such as my phone privileges to going out with my friends. I should be more grateful for these things rather then thinking its a necessity.

This summer especially, has been a time where I really matured and come to understand my parents more. I have been through a lot, especially with my family. I won't lie, but I've gotten into a lot of trouble in the pass month or so. I've argued with my mom about many things that I thought was unfair. Such as all the freedom that some kids have and that I don't. They weren't even good kids yet they still got to do whatever they wanted. But the more I argued, the more I realized how immature I was being. It wasn't right for me to talk back, especially towards my elders. I learned from my mistakes and am making sure I don't do it again. Once I realized this, I saw myself as a more understanding and a mature person. I should never talk back to someone who is older than me, even if I know I'm right and that they're wrong. Most of the time its pride, and they are really the ones who are right. It just takes some empathy to realize their point of view because sometimes, i don't know that my actions are really hurting me. My elders know what's best for me and that's why they do what they do. It isn't to keep me from doing things, but just to protect me from what they know is coming ahead.

I've always thought that I could get whatever I wanted. As of now, I know that everything I have is due to hard work because money doesn't grow on trees. When I was a little kid, if I wanted the newest toy, my parents were the ones who bought it for me. Back then I thought that it was so easy to get something because all you had to do was buy it at a store. Now, most of the time if I want something then I need buy it with my own money. My parents provide me with all the things that I NEED. They tell me that all the unecessary things that I want, I would have to work for it myself to gain moral value. By that time I didn't know what was coming to me. It isn't easy when I have to pay for things myself. Once I started to work for my money, I saw that the small things that I wanted so badly were not important anymore. Im looking at the bigger picture now and I think that making my own money has helped me "Come of Age".

In the end being more mature is being more understanding of other people's point of view. Not whining about things that you can't always have is all part of being more of an adult. Even though growing up does have its perks, such as more freedom, there are also the responsibilities that come with it. The real world or the reality of things isn't always going to be fair and most of the time it is very competitive. As I have "Come of Age", I learned from my experiences and became a more mature and independent person.