“Growing old is mandatory; growing up is an option” –Chili Davis. What is the difference between growing old and growing up? This question is important because as everyone will grow old, not everyone will grow up. In life getting older in many peoples eyes is the same thing as growing up.
When you grow old your body may grow and you may see physical characteristics change in your body, but growing up is more than that. Some people may tell you to “grow up” when you are acting in an immature fashion, and although maturity is a part of growing up its not the only thing. Growing up is not only physical, but it is mental as well. Some may even say that growing up is more of a growth of the knowledge and feelings of a person, rather than just a physical change.
To me growing up is understanding. As I have grown I have lost much of my naiveness since I was younger, I have learned that sometimes when people say that they are okay, they really are not. Little things like this stick with you throughout your life and you learn from them. I also feel that learning is a very important part of growing up. If someone does not learn, they will never grow. You have to learn about responsibility and hard work so that you can succeed in life. WIthout learning key things such as responsibility and respect, people may not treat you as a grown up and you may not feel like one. Growing up is very hard, but you have to live through it so that you are able do what you want with your life. You make many decisions in your life that will change the way you grow up, if you make a wrong decision you can learn from your mistakes and make your life better from then on.
In the story of Bless Me Ultima the theme of growing up is greatly portrayed by Ant...
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... his new understanding of life and the value life has.
Antonio grew from the knowledge that he obtained from the people around him and applied it to his own life. He grew from his questions and curiosity. Antonio also grew from what he experienced, his independence, his dreams, and the struggles he encountered. In Antonio’s life religion was also a grand factor that affected his growth. With any of these factors missing from Antonio’s life I feel that the man that he came to be would be entirely different. With different experiences, people, questions, etc. in some ones life there will be different outcomes as well. It seems to me that Antonio grew more within roughly three years than a man may in his entire life. I believe that what Antonio experienced in his life and the people he experienced these things with helped him grow into a smart, kind, and courageous man.
To reach maturity requires a loss of innocence. For example, when a child finds out there is no Santa Claus, he is caught between a magical belief and a reality that he is unwilling to accept. It's a coming-of-age experience that changes his outlook on life forever. The child has lost some of his previous innocence and must face life's harsh realities. This process can be confusing and painful. In some ways, a loss of innocence forces us to become more mature by gathering wisdom and knowledge from a metamorphic experience. Metamorphosis is as much a spiritual change as it is a physical one. It is a natural process that helps a person grow and develop.
Maturity is not a fickle expression such as happiness or frustration, but rather an inherent quality one gains over time, such as courage or integrity. Before maturity can be expressed, the one who expresses it must have significant confidence in himself, since self-confidence is the root of maturity. Being flexible and formulating one's own opinions or ideas are aspects of maturity, but neither is possible without self-confidence. The greatest aspect of maturity is the ability to make decisions which society does not agree with. Whether or not one follows through with these ideas is not important. What is important is the ability to make the decision. These decisions represent the greatest measure of maturity.
What is maturity? When does one mature? Maturity defined by a dictionary means “fully developed physically; fully grown,” but it also depends on the way one acts. Although one is grown up, it does not mean one acts poised and sophisticated as expected. After the Trojan War, the main character Odysseus is on a long journey to return to his home, Ithaca. The problem is the kingdom is overrun by suitors; his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, do their best to keep them out of the palace. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus transitions from being immature to mature as he is placed in Xenia,the Greek custom of hospitality for guests through encounters with Polyphemus, Circe, and Alcinous.
“Growing up” is a very broad term that is used without a true, consistent definition. In essence, it describes and encompasses themes of coming of age and the loss of innocence as a person moves from child to adult. In many respects, people view this change as a specific, pivotal moment in a person’s life, such as an eighteenth birthday, or the day a person leaves their parents’ house. This idea of having a crucial moment in life, which provides the open door into adulthood, is portrayed in many novels. It is easy to find a death that occurs, or a specific event that causes a character to “grow up” prematurely, but many times, contrary to most beliefs, that exact event is not the turn of the key leading through the doors to maturity. It is rather just a small push which starts a domino effect. This is the same scenario in the novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. This novel proves that loss of innocence is a learning process rather than the result of a
Many people have been questioning on whether maturity depends on one’s age. I believe that maturity isn’t dependant on someone’s age because one matures based on things they’ve undergo, and how their environment can be.
This story demonstrates that growing up is a necessary and frustrating task. However, people must handle anything that life throws at them with wisdom beyond their years. The aging curse prevents people from staying young and innocent, instead forcing them to enter adulthood and tackle the challenges facing them.
Growing up is one of the most important stages of human life. It is the part when humans reach maturity, become adults, and attain full growth. Also, it means one more thing. It means understanding more about the society. Harper Lee's, To Kill A Mocking Bird, shows the different ways of growing up. There are three characters who go through the process of growing up, Scout mentally grows up, Jem goes through a mental growing up that every adolescent will go through and aunt Alexandra also goes through a mental growing up.
The early phases of growing up can have its own unique problems. There are many different things that can go wrong while growning up. Your whole body is changing and it cand take some getting used to. There were many stories that I read in the literature book that illustrated this to me. I will compare these stories to each other to see how they were similiar and also to see the different problems people experience while growing up.
In conclusion, the growing up or the two stages in life are governed totally by a series of situations, parenting, and events that affect the outcome of how the individuals will handle the changes in life. Using human intellect and determining aspects that are normal, life will be lived and a good balanced person in society will be achieved. Because every person is different and an individual, the outcome in everyone will be different. Mature people may encounter different levels of stressful situations or circumstances than younger adults. They are more practical in coping with stress and have a greater acceptance of some things in life that cannot be altered or improved, and, can easily adapt to changes that will occur in life.
I do not believe anyone's transition into adulthood is enjoyable or smooth, losing your ignorance and being made aware of real world problems isn't exactly what you wish for. The event that marked my transition into adulthood is certainly nothing I would wish on anyone, but if I had not experienced this, I wouldn't have become someone who learned to take responsibility, and find reasonable solutions to seemingly impossible tasks.
Have you ever thought about how hard growing up is? Coming of age can mean many different things for different people but it mostly means growing up. Everyone has their own meaning, it’s different for each family, culture, etc. For example, for some people coming of age means to be able to drive, for others its graduating high school. In addition to coming of age comes responsibility, privileges, consequences, and many others. Coming of age can change your perception of life because of the things that come along with it but just because you can do more things that you weren’t able to do before doesn’t mean that you should just be focusing on this new part of your life.
Maturity is not something that happens overnight. Maturity comes through trial and error; it’s a process which has to be perfected. Life throws curveballs and there are always multiple ways to deal with the situations. Being mature is making the right choices and knowing right from wrong.
The idea that development is considered lifelong has to do with the psychological sense that individuals do not stop encountering situations that can have a potential influence on their development. While infants and toddlers come to mind when generally speaking of learning opportunities, a man or woman in their mid-fifties can still experience events that will impact their development. One’s mentality or behavior does not stop growing at a certain age because there are plenty of chances for development throughout the course of one’s life.
Everyone that have ever lived to adulthood, understand that difficulty of the transition to it from childhood. As of right now, I am in the prime of the “coming of age “transition. The overwhelming pressure of our society that forces the adolescence to assimilate the social norms is felt by many. Just as in our first steps, our first words or anything that is expected in our human milestones, coming of age is one of them. It may variety from different societies, religious responsibility or modern legal convention; everyone had to reach this point eventually.
Transition from childhood to adulthood is not just age related. It is a shift in the way our mind starts to process things.