Becoming an Adult and the College Experience

¶ … interviewee is a 23-year-old senior, pursuing BA in business. It is argued that the transition to adulthood, the movement into adult status, is socially constructed. According to Arnett, (2000) the emerging adulthood is a period which brings the possibility of many options in life. He adds that at this stage, not much about the future has been decided for certain, it the period of life that the scope of independent exploration of life's possibilities is greater than at any other time in the lives of many. In line with this, the interviewee regards adulthood as the first opportunity in making and learning how to take responsibility of one's life; it is learning to deal with the consequences of one's decisions. In addition, Arnett reveals that at this stage, many of the emerging adults do not consider themselves as adolescents and neither do they consider themselves entirely as adults. In this case, the interviewee compliments Arnett's theory, he is not sure whether he is an adult or not and says that there are moments when he considers himself an adult and believes that the ability to make one owns decision is part of being an adult. He also thinks that maturity and experience are major components of adulthood that are acquired with time. Therefore in this regard he falls short of considering himself an adult. He says he is not 100% adult and consults his parents and other family members from time to time for guidance instead of taking that leap of faith and hope for the better.

Challenges

The interviewee encountered challenges and changes brought upon by the transition to college. However, he says that he was prepared for and looked forward to confronting some of these challenges. The curriculum was hard demanding for longer study hours, the teachers also demanding more responsibility and accountability; here things that he got away with in high school were not possible in college, here one was their own parent. The interviewee adds that the new found freedom in college proved also challenging as it ushered him to a complex social life. He pointed out at academics as the most challenging to adapt to in college life. This is because there was increased pressure from his scholarship, his part-time work as well as the burden of keeping a good grade. The interviewee said that not only were these great challenges for him, but also to his peers; some of them opted to drop out of school. In college, life meant taking care of his responsibilities, a move that made him consider himself as an adult.

College life has somehow changed the interviewee view of life. He says that the first two years he was in a long distance relationship. He never saw romantic relationships as requiring closeness. In his junior year he started dating other people that were closer to him. He adds that he viewed himself as well as his partners as adults because he realized that they were not teenagers crushing on another anymore; the relationships seemed more serious and they were on their own making their own decisions. The interviewee reveals that he now realizes that relationships are more challenging than earlier thought no matter how hard one tries. He also did not mind attending wild parties with lots of drinking, smoking, as long as he was with his friends, to him that was just a good time and was exploring his new found freedom. He says that he grew out of that quickly and has since learned much about himself. He sees himself as more responsible one among his friends.

The interviewee reveals that he also changed his major from criminal justice to business. As mentioned earlier, the interviewee mentioned that he made decisions in consultations with his parents; this is a perfect example of such a move as after his family and girlfriend's intervention he changed his major to business, he adds that his interests and not tastes has changed. Moreover, his girlfriend did not want him to be a cop because she thought that would have made her a widow.

Emergent Adulthood

Arnett alleges that young adulthood means the individuals have reached adulthood but believe they are not yet adults. The outlines that individuals between ages 18 and 25 are slowly progressing into adulthood, and thus this age group is most likely to fall under the emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2004). Additionally, Arnett outlines that 1820-year-olds in the United States see themselves as non-adults and most are still in colleges, unmarried, and are childless. This is the opposite for young adults who are employed and are married.

In this case, the interviewee has a part-time job and claims to handles his responsibility therefore assuming that he has characteristics of an adult, he further believes taking care of his friends while they are partying makes him more of an adult than they are. He is not sure whether he is or is not an adult; this is guided by the fact that he consults his parents and other family member from time to time. According to him, he tries to behave as an adult but fears he does not fit the description yet and since he does not entirely depend on his parents, he also does not regard himself as an adolescent.

Change Process

From the interview, it is not difficult to understand how the interviewee has under gone change. The interviewee's perception of love, work, and worldviews has greatly changed from the time he got to college. He has transformed from having long distance relationships to having a more serious relationship thereby cohabitating with his girlfriend. He has developed a more focused view of his future life, he perceives his college life as a way of obtaining knowledge and skills preparing him for future adulthood career. Moreover, the interviewee started attending college with the worldview he was raised with and learned in adolescence such as partying and binge drinking. The interviewee is fully aware of changes in his perceptions and worldviews. In this regard, he says that in his adolescence stage, he never minded attending wild parties with lots of drinking, smoking, this was a good time and ways of exploring his new found freedom. Following his evolvement into the emerging adulthood, he gradually quits his partying lifestyle as well as drug abuse. He has since learned much about himself and understands himself as a more responsible person.

Factors Influencing Emergent Adulthood

In his publication, Arnett outlines several factors that influence the length of time one remains an emerging adult. From the interview, education, family ties, and work related duties have influenced the interviewee's perception of adulthood.

Attending college greatly changed the interviewee's view of adulthood. At this stage, the interviewee was able to decide on a particular worldview and is able to recognize that other perspectives exist and are valid as well. Following his enrollment into college, he gives up on his past activities such as partying and binge drinking. As opposed to his friends, he views himself as more responsible; his friends have low levels of cognition due to their limited education caused by alleged school dropouts.