There are many things that differentiate children from adults. There are events and ceremonies that formally transition a child into an adult; additionally, there are numerous informal happenings that occur along the way in childhood that signify a child moving toward adulthood. In my life, when I was a child, I didn’t know right from wrong. I kept asking questions to the adults in my life to ensure that I was doing more of the “right” things than the “wrong” things. This is one way that many children transition to adulthood. The difference between a child and an adult in this circumstance is that the adult typically knows how to use his reasoning, his social experience, and his morality to make a determination on right and wrong. A child often does not have the maturity level in these areas to do so, so they rely on the advice and direction from adults.
Also, there have been certain specific events that have happened in my life that have made me more adult than child. Being a student at school and college, landing a job after school, volunteering in a community changed my life as a child into a mature and responsible adult life. Being a college student has changed my life in the sense that I am now more mature and responsible. Additionally, college has provided me with the career-specific knowledge and skills that I will need in my word processing jobs. The communication courses I have taken in college have prepared me to approach most communicative acts with confidence and skill. This is another sign of being an adult.
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"Transitioning from Childhood to Adulthood".
Employment has also helped me to become a mature adult and get rid of child-like behavior, including a lack of communication skills, a lack of practical skills, and a lack of problem solving skills. When I got my first job in a clinic, I started to specific communicative strategies from my boss. I learned how to provide my customers with the best service. Customers deserve to be treated cordially, with respect, and with patience. On the job, I also learned that you cannot avoid difficult situations like you can when you are a child. Sometimes, customers just aren’t happy, and nothing you do will help the situation. In those rare cases, I learned to face the situation head-on and resolve it. An adult is able to do that, a child often will avoid this type of uncomfortable interaction. For example, an agitated customer came back with his purchased items, and he told me that I had given him the incorrect items. At that moment, I believed him, listened to him, resolved his problem, apologized to him, and got the correct items for him.
In reflecting upon the differences between a child and an adult, I have thought about my parents. When I was young, my parents provided everything I needed. Now, as they age, they will begin to need support and care from me. This is yet another significant signal that childhood is over and adulthood is here to stay. When I was a child, I only knew how to get help, care, and financial support from my parents. I didn’t even notice that they were also humans and not an automatic machine which provided me with anything I wanted and needed. Now, however, I am 22 years old, and I am starting to understand their feelings. It is my turn to take care of them. I started to cook and do laundry for my parents. I do a lot of household chores to make them happy. I make the primary decisions for choosing clinics and doctors. I provide them essential care financially, mentally, and emotionally. Finally, my parents are very happy, and they love me more than when I was a child. I have become a person they can lean upon.
Finally, one last thing that differentiates a child from an adult is giving to others in the community. When I became adult, I began completing a lot of volunteerism and advocacy for people who are really in need. It is also one way a mature adult can give back to his or her community. I taught in a library and cooked foods in a church for homeless and elderly people. This is certainly one way children and different from adults.
I am fortunate enough to have transitioned from an indecisive child into decisive, responsible, and mature adult. I would not have been able to do this without the supp
ort from my family, my boss, my teacher, and my parents. “Every day is a learning process” said by one of my teachers.
