Hello hearters <3,
this year i turned 18, so i wondered what being mature means. Because in Germany where i am from you are officially an adult with 18 years. So what makes someone a real adult?
I thought about this a while and have written down some points that i find are making you mature. Not because i fully know what it means, but because i guess this could be important and i myself try to do all of this.
All of these points are my own opinion and so very subjective. Please don't feel bothered or forced. These are just my thoughts. Have fun!
Body
What is one of the biggest steps in growing up is how you take care of yourself, i think. It's about how you treat your own body, that you know what is good for you and healthy. For example what you eat, how much, how often,
that you drink enough,
that you do sports,
that your body gets enough fresh air and sunlight and also that/if you need sex (masturbate, love from others). Growing up means knowing what your body needs, to treat it with respect, not to hate it and not to hurt it.
Social life
The biggest part is of course your behavior. It's always important how you treat others, when you grow up you get an awareness of how you should behave. You should always be polite and kind, treat humans and other living creatures with respect and love, be humble.
You should know that there will always be people who doesn't like you and people that you won't like. This is normal, but still you should accept it and try your best. It's about to be okay with it.
Also an important thing is to know the power of words, which is affecting your social life very strongly. Know that words have a weight, that you choose them wisely and careful.
Dreams
Having dreams means dreaming and often it means being visionary, but sometimes you have to be realistic. So better than to dream about something that won't happen you can turn your dreams into plans and your nightmares into mistakes that made you learn. When you got a plan then you should know that you have to work for it and you are the only one who can make it happen. Which sometimes can make you desperate but when you once got it, it's a great feeling that it is your own success and that your own work brought you there. For this you have to get your ass up and you can make yourself proud one day. Also you should never let someone stop you from your dreams when it is really the thing you want. It's your vision, make it come true!
Money
An unfortunately big part of being an adult is money and the way you handle it. For sure it means earning money with a job or something like this and then you have to think about how you spend it. Financial problems are very bad so go for it and make a plan what you do with it. You always should know where your money goes and how much you got. Spend it with attention and caution, be frugal and know what is necessary to buy and what would be wasted. It's important! Take care of your cash!
Me, myself and I
The most important part (the best comes last) is how you deal with yourself. When you get older the puberty makes it very difficult for young people like us to deal with ourselves. Society makes it and you yourself of course too. We hate us, we cry and scream, we get pimples and a broken heart, our first period and bad marks. Okay okay, but one day, you feel better. And then you are very close to being an adult, which is also a long long process.
Being a grown up means you have to make many many choices for which some people won't even like you a bit, but it's part of the game. So you choose. Choose wisely!
Being yourself (which everybody tells you to be) means having your own mind and being confident enough to fight it when it's questioned. It's okay what you think, most of the time. Be aware of who you are and live your life. This means having your own plan and going ways that sometimes no one will go with you. That's okay. You should have your own opinion and not being afraid of haters, even if it's hard sometimes, i know.
As an adult you as well have to be good to be on your own, happy with yourself, fully alone. It's important to not make yourself dependent on someone.
When it comes to friends and groups it's also important to know that you don't have to be dependent on someone when it's about things that you do and them not. So like when it's about drugs or sex, you shouldn't do it too, just because everybody else does it. This is called peer pressure and is sometimes very dangerous. Be aware of the power of this and also the power of your own opinion. You should never do things because of others and their opinion, but for yourself, even if people don't like it. Idc! You don't have to prove anything to anyone. It's just about yourself when it comes to health and safety. This also means to know that the absolute coolness doesn't exist. People are doing stupid things anytime anywhere. Then it's not cool, it's just dumb. The only reason to do things should always be because you yourself chose to do them.
You have the freedom to choose how you want to be and what an adult you will be.
