Grandparents might still cook every night for their adult sons! The extended, tight-knit family is highly valued in that culture, I can see now, and living with family is not a sign of immaturity but a cultural practice. Similarly, America's own culture has shifted and changed with economic circumstances. I might not agree or like all of the new changes that have brought about this current 'extended adolescence' but now I can better understand why it has arisen, at this time in our nation's history.
Before the industrial revolution, people might remain on the family farm with their extended family from the time they lived until they died. This was hardly a sign of weakness, rather it was required for individuals to survive. When I was younger, jobs were far easier to find, and social standards were different than they are today. There was also less emphasis on finding yourself, your purpose in life, and your soul mate.
Taking this class has made me more tolerant and compassionate...
I know it has made me a better grandparent: whatever my grandchildren decide to do with their lives, I will support them. I will also understand that they have and will have different struggles than myself, and try not to judge them based upon my own standards.
Adulthood is not an absolute. Our society has set a cut-off of eighteen as a standard of what makes an adult, but not so long ago that age was much lower, and today the standard age of adulthood has grown. It is hard to say that an eighteen-year-old college student clutching his or her books is as mature as a young man who fought in World War II who was the same age in the 1940s. But that does not make today's teenager a bad person -- he has merely grown up in a different environment. I am grateful for having lived my own existence as a young adult during the 20th century, but I recognize that adulthood in the modern era will not -- and cannot -- perfectly resemble my past.
