Adultescence

Transitional adulthood is a rather new social concept. History has shown that people were born, grew up with their parents, and then when they were "of age" (about 18) they moved out onto their own, got married, and started their own family. This worked back then when the life expectancy was shorter, and essentially you had less going for you. Nowadays, people are in no rush to grow up. After finishing college, adultescences have time to find a job, save some money, and set up a plan for how they want to live their lives.

The economy has played a big part in shaping our social views. With the past decade being full of great wealth, young singles just out of college were able to make a lot of money (at a very young age) and feel like the king of the world. Settling down at a time like that in your life would make you feel like you're cutting yourself off, and potentially missing out on something that could be bigger and better. Some people joke about the single life about how great it is, and although it may have its upside, our culture today makes it seem like marriage is the last resort for guys being pressured from their girlfriends to give in.

From about 18 to 29, adultescences grow into who they will be, and in our day and age we need a longer time than it has taken generations before us to solidify that. Whether this be laziness or indecisiveness, people are getting married at a later and later age, and having kids at an older age, which in turn means that they can only have fewer kids. As for myself, i do want to be able to enjoy my adultescence, but i also want to balance it and find a way to merge the ideas of the fifties with today.

Only fifty years ago any guy would be happy to settle down. As recently as the '50's and '60's, boys and girls would graduate from high school, get married, and right away have a family. As seen in the picture, the girl (who looks very young) seems to truly enjoy her decision of settling down, even if she is only 18. This seems rushed to us now looking back on it, but back then, that was what you did. If you weren't married by the time you were twenty five you were seen as odd. Perhaps it is our generation plainly rejecting the idea of the stereotypical housewife who waits on her husband, granting his every wish, or the idea of having to be perfect like the brady bunch, but no matter what, it is very prevalent in our society today.