The Thanksgiving Postmortem

It is hard to truly encapsulate what feels different using only words. In fact, it would be much simpler to describe the few things that felt similar; the list would be much shorter. Due to a certain course of events, the people at home and my relationships with them have all changed drastically in the past three months since I initially left for college. That, in conjunction with the fact that I have been  absent from the home for a few months, meant that I felt very distant from the people at home. Though my parents haven't physically changed much in that time, I can hardly recognize them based on their actions. Certain traits of theirs that had been subdued for years have been greatly exaggerated in the past three months.
That is the feeling that resonated with me most over the break: distance. I was "at home," the home that I was born and raised in. Yet, I did not feel at home. I was surrounded by family and friends. Yet, for the most part, I felt like the outsider looking in. I simply couldn't develop a bond at the same level of intimacy that I had achieved before coming to college. With the exception of two friends from high school, who I've spoken more to since leaving for college than I ever had when I was living minutes away from them, I felt like I was unable to properly connect with anyone from my home life. However, I didn't feel bad (mostly) because of it, instead I felt rather indifferent, just a little uncomfortable at most. I can only hope that means that I am moving in a forward direction in my life.

When Are You Really an Adult?

              I think one of the most interesting aspects of this article, is that it confirms something I’ve suspected but have never been able to verbalize: emerging adulthood exists in multiple forms, or it doesn’t exist at all. I think I agree most with the critical perspective offered on the left column of the last page: “if emerging adulthood can be many things, then it is nothing in particular.” Of course, there is no set path for people once they have finished high school, but the fact that there are so many different paths and routes to the abstract concept of “adulthood,” and all take varying amount of times, the idea of “emerging adulthood” seems to me that it has been generalizes almost to the point that it is useless.

              An aspect of this article, and our unit, that needs to be expanded on is the history of emerging adulthood. Sheehy presented the idea that advancements in modern medicine and overall quality of life improvements due to industrialization have led to longer life-spans, and as a result, more life stages. However, the idea presented in this article, is that emerging adulthood has always existed, except for the Baby Boomer generation which experienced an anomaly due to a massive economic boom. Sheehy also argued that completion of passages is determined internally, however this article mentions that many people found the promotion to adult to coincide with the birth of their first child. This seems like too big of a coincidence, and I would argue that it shows evidence that completion of a passage into adulthood may be external, or at least more external than Sheehy presented.