You should have asked that question during your third year in high school. You would look forward to high school prom, which could be your first attempt to act like an adult. You wear the finest clothing (or so you would think). You want to impress your date, whom you have a crush on. (And you're hoping that your date won't be looking around.) Lastly, you like to impress your friends. Envy might be better, but you want a good time. The best part about that night is no one would look for you. No parent to make you guarded all the time. It would turn out to be a fleeting moment, though.
It didn't take long before your old man would teach you how to drive. You also have your first taste of beer, but you would do it on the sly. And high school graduation happens before you exercise your right to vote. Not bad for someone who hasn't turned 18. And then you would learn some hard truths during your first year in college.
Maturity comes late to some people while others haven't outgrown certain things. For instance, you're green with envy at your flat mate. It's not the new gadgets, which the other students in the flat would notice right away. It's his Lego collection in display, a miniature version of some popular destinations in America. It should remind you of "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", which you have seen recently. A police officer, who is approaching middle age, is reading a comic book whenever there's nothing else to do in the station. When you asked your tutor about it, she would smile without saying a word. It suggests something, but you couldn't figure it out exactly.
To rephrase the question, you wonder when is the right time to act more like an adult and less of a teenager. You would have a good guess after the Yuletide holiday.
5 Signs That You're No Longer a Carefree Teen
You take your homework seriously. Not that you haven't given it lots of attention during your high school days, but your mind would be preoccupied with something else. (The colorful set of the "Finesse" music video would prompt you to watch old episodes of "In Living Colors". It seems better than "SNL", such that you would sleep late at times.) Those days seems long gone whenever you think of the reading list. You haven't gone through the titles that your professor would recommend to you, as writing an essay could take hours. But you have a hunch that you would do faster sooner or later.
You would learn the benefits of hitting the bed at an earlier time. You don't like puffy eyes, which you haven't noticed until your third week in college. You wish you could be your more energetic self when you get off the bed on a Monday morning. And you hardly keep up with a routine. There are changes during your first month; you're able to handle the coursework, such that you manage to finish your assignments ahead of the deadline. And you have more time for reading. (Your professors like how you compare works between authors from the same genre.) You want to keep it up.
You learn the value of money. You resent your parent for not giving you more money than what you need, but you didn't realize that they would do it for your ow good. You become mindful of your spending habits, even learn to give up on certain luxuries. It didn't take long for you to see the benefits, as you enjoy staring at the mirror. You couldn't help but notice your smaller waistline. Nothing wrong about a little vanity.
You figure out that there's no substitute for hard work. There's no other way to write your papers. You rather not peek at Cliff Notes. You become hooked to the gym. And you like how your tutor admiring your efforts.
You get to know more about yourself by befriending other students. You don't have a clue about the merits of friendship, which could be said for most students. You want to meet new people, hoping that you would find a group that you would belong. It didn't take long to happen, but some lessons are learned the hard way. Not everyone has to like you, and it's not your problem if someone doesn't fancy you. You can please a person to a certain extent unless you want to get off the market. And you try to remain the same teenager after you notice the changes that are happening to you. How others react to it will indicate if it's a good thing (or not), but you can offer an explanation if it really means much to you.
You'll Learn This Important Lesson
You would meet some students who haven't taste beer. Yet. You're also surprised at your coursemate, who would admit that she doesn't know how to drive. (And she has no intention of enrolling in driving school during summer.) There are some students who are more childish than you think. You won't think them less, not even shun them. Change happens to everyone, which is the only way to move forward. (Your tutor would impart this nugget of wisdom.) It comes when you least expect it, which you should know.
You notice a zit on the left side of your cheek. And you don't like it at all. What will other students make out of it?
