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.