Young Adults

The Blessings of Young Adulthood

If you're a teen struggling to get through the end of high school and trying to make your parents understand where you are coming from, becoming a young adult and getting a taste of freedom probably sounds like a wonderful thing.

It is a pretty great thing. You get to start asserting your independence and making decisions about your life in a way that you haven't been able to do before. Once you move out of your parents' house, it's completely up to you whether you go to class, sleep in or stay up late and what you're going to eat each day.

Of course the upside is also a potential downside for young adults. Being on your own means you're really on your own. You have to do your own laundry, food shopping and bill paying. It's up to you to make sure you get to work or school on time, that you study enough to make good grades and have enough money to pay your bills.

It's not like your parents will abandon you when you turn 18, but they probably will expect you to take on a lot of the adult responsibilities that they have been taking care of for most of your life.

The Challenges of Young Adulthood

The key to becoming a young adult is to establish who you are going to be, as an identity separate from your parents. As a young adult you start voting, go to college or begin working at a more professional job, and build your own household.

Some young adults also get married and/or start having children, which brings a host of other difficulties, from financial to emotional changes.

Probably the biggest challenge for young adults is deciding what to do with their lives. Will you go to college? What do you want to study? Where do you want to go? If you don't go to college, where would you like to work? Where do you want to live?

All of these decisions will make a big impact on what happens in the rest of your life. No decision is irreversible, but it's very true that the decisions you make now will change who you are and the path you take for the rest of your life.

That's a pretty scary thought, but the good news is you don't have to make every single decision overnight. That's why they allow students in college to have undeclared majors. You have to be out in the world a little bit before you know what you want to do and become.

Transitioning for Young Adults

Making the transition from a teen under your parents' roof to a young adult living on your own or in a college dorm can be very exciting and scary. It's best not to make too many decisions all at once to smooth the transition, both for you and your parents.

College is designed to ease the transition from the schooling of your younger days to your new, independent life. Dorm living can give you a taste of freedom in a place where you are still safe and somewhat supervised.

If college isn't for you or you want to take some time off before going to college, continuing to live with your parents after getting a job is a good compromise. You still get to have the freedom of your own schedule, but you still get some security from living at home. The best way to make this work is to talk with your parents about the independence you expect and offer to pay rent to show you are serious.

Once you feel comfortable with your transition into independence you can take the leap of getting your own apartment, getting that first real job out of college, even thinking about getting married and starting your own family.