Maturity vs Age

Maturity has always been associated with age in one way or the other but does age really matter when it comes to maturity? In Nigeria, a person legally becomes an adult once they turn 18 and are now open to certain things they didn't have access to earlier and one typical example is the ability to vote during elections. Aside from that, there aren't a lot of differences between a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old in terms of what they have access to. For example, in a lot of Western countries, alcohols aren't sold to people below the age of 18 but it's different here

A 16-year-old can pretty much go to a bar and order alcohol and shisha without much hassle. And I guess it's because most of them look older than their age, they will appear to be in their 20s when in reality they are just around 16/17, and some of them even act more mature than some 30-year-olds 😅 Now for the main question; is 18 an appropriate age to graduate into an adult? For me, I feel there's nothing wrong with that age, it's widely used all over the world and there's nothing wrong with it. Of course, I will give reasons why I feel so.

The first reason is that most people are done with high school at that point and have gotten a taste of what adulthood feels like. Me, I graduated from high school at the age of 16 and got my first job a year later, meanwhile, some of my classmates got admitted to the university the same year we got done with high school, and I don't need to explain to you how life at the university changes your mentality and pushes you to start thinking like an adult even if you don't want to (you have no choice).

Of course, all these might not apply to everyone which brings me to my second reason; puberty. Males typically hit puberty between the ages of 12 and 15 while for females, it's from 10 to 14. This is when most people start acting "mature" because they have started seeing changes in their bodies that let them know that they are no longer kids. Puberty comes with a reality check; "I am becoming an adult," and many people's behaviour instantly changes during this period. Of course, there is still a lot to learn and it's ok to make mistakes, but they are basically just building up experiences and life lessons.

By the time they get to 18 and you combine all these experiences with the fact that they are now in the university or learning one skill or the other, it makes sense that they would be seen as adults at that point. But let's assume for a second that 18 doesn't make sense to stop being a minor, what age should then be appropriate? 20? What's even the difference? And when you even consider that we are now in a modern age where information flows a lot faster because of the Internet and social media, kids now accumulate experiences much faster.

That's why you will see a 16-year-old acting more mature than a 30-year-old adult. Of course, this is very rare, considering that a lot of these teens pick up a lot of bad habits from social media, it's just a minority that learn good manners. I have come across a lot of youngsters who appear older than me at first because of how they behave, but I'm always shocked when I hear their age. This is why I feel maturity isn't dependent on age, even though there's often a relationship between those two but it's definitely not a guarantee.

Age does play a role, considering that we only gain more life experiences as we grow older. Each year comes with its own challenges, and overcoming these can teach us valuable lessons that shape our perspective, these are the things that contribute to our maturity; life experiences and lessons make us more mature! But that's not the whole story, some young people also exhibit remarkable maturity and that's either because they have faced a lot of hardship very early in life or they're just naturally inclined to responsibility (think firstborns! 😉).

These days, I don't judge people based on their age, I focus more on how they behave which is always a strong indication of their maturity level. I know we have all encountered adults who haven't really grown up, still acting goofy even in their 30s and then we have also come across youngsters who behave like they are married with 3 kids; so many responsibilities. But in the end, maturity isn't a destination, it's a journey. As we walk through life, we pick up experiences that make us act more maturely. For some people, it occurs very early while for some others, they start acting mature very much later in life.

Thanks for reading

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