Diego Canga-Arguelles
Professor Amy Hackett
Level 6 Writing
21 April 2013 Adult Age Consideration What are the most important aspects for being an adult? In most countries, when someone turns either eighteen or twenty-one, the law considers this person an adult. How appropriate is this rule? These individuals have not experienced enough. The adult age should be at least twenty-five years old for three main reasons: maturity, responsibility, and decision making. First of all, maturity is the ability that a person has to act in a suitable way in different situations. For example, as John MacNaughton said, “Maturity begins to grow when you can sense your concern for others outweighing your concern for yourself.” This means that a person must not only think of himself, but of others too. The reader can see that maturity is very important in a human being’s life. To illustrate this reason, the person must be able to think by him or herself after analyzing the pros and cons of certain circumstances. An individual who is at least twenty-five must be considered an adult because he or she has more life experience than an eighteen or twenty-one-year-old person. Furthermore, the person learns from his or her experiences. When a person becomes an adult, his or her life experiences change him or her because they help the human being to become more independent and mature. This means that the person must no longer depend on other people. The maturity of a person will cause him or her to behave according to their principles, values and experiences. Secondly, responsibility is being accountable for your actions and behaviors. An adult must have goals in his or her life. This is very important because the person must decide which direction to take. These decisions must be taken in a responsible way because they will affect not only his or her future; but also others. If someone can visualize him or herself as a beneficial citizen, parent or professional, then this person can work hard in order to achieve his or her goals. It is obvious that a twenty-five year old get worried about the future than someone who is eighteen or twenty-one because at this age the individual will be more responsible and have a clear idea of what to do in every situation. For instance, if an individual decides that he or she wants to get married in the future, have children, a career or to have a house; it is indispensable to set specific goals in order to achieve them. At the same time, a responsible person should include in his or her plan the members of the community. For example, having a company that can give job opportunities to others and paying taxes to the government are demonstrations of responsibility. It becomes evident that an adult should be responsible because the results could affect not only him or her, but others too. Thirdly, a twenty-five-year-old adult should be a decision maker. This means that he or she has to choose the best option to solve a situation. A great decision maker will achieve better results if this person could think of all the positive or negative consequences. People should keep in mind that making decisions could affect the future of others. For instance, in a divorce, the couple’s children and society are affected because families are the main part of the community; or if a president of a country makes a favorable decision, future generations will have positive consequences. This is the case of President Obama who is supporting a law that will legalize illegal immigrants. It is significant to make decisions in order to achieve a desired result. One can see that a person of more than twenty-five years of age will be more mature to obtain better results than someone of eighteen or twenty-one. On the other hand, in most of the western world, the law considers a person an adult when he or she achieves the age of eighteen. This is unacceptable because in most countries, a boy who has reached eighteen years old is eligible to go to war, but he is still too young to buy alcohol. This happens in the United States because while an eighteen-year-old boy could join the military, he cannot go to the supermarket to buy some liquor. He needs to be at least twenty-one. It is irrational to think that a person is an adult for some aspects and be treated as a child for others. Finally, it is important to remember that an adult is a person who can act with maturity, responsibility and has the ability to make decisions. Countries’ laws should consider twenty-five years old as an appropriate age for this purpose. It is unfair that sometimes a person is measured as an adult at eighteen, but other times he or she is treated as a child. Depending on the future needs of each country, the age of adulthood might change. To become an adult must be in accordance to the physical, mental, and emotional growth of a person. Countries’ laws should let people finish their teenage period before considering them as adults.