RSSOn Growing Up
Ashley Merryman, co-author of The Factbook on Family, posted an interesting article on a blog she shares with Po Bronson. In her article, she asks the question, "Are Young Adults Today Failing to Grow Up?", following a short series of pieces on the real and perceived shifts we see in the American maturation process. We go to school for much longer, get married later, and wait until later in life to have children. But does this mean we are less mature? less "successful" adults? Ms. Merryman doesn't provide us with solid answers, but certainly questions the yardsticks we use to measure maturity and argues that we need a new vocabulary in order to discuss the idea in modern terms.
FYI, for now, if I can just get people to re-examine those preconceived benchmarks of adulthood, I'd consider that quite an achievement. And I intend to blog further on achieving adulthood as Po and I continue.
In the meantime, if you're interested in "what makes a grown-up," we have a lot of information about it in the Factbook -- how cultures other than the US see maturity, how the concept has changed over time, etc. It's www.pobronson.com/factbook/ -- then go to the section entitled "Becoming an Adult."
Thank you again!
Ashley