Being an Emerging Adult

My, how the lifestyle of emerging adults has changed over the last 50 years. Professor Jeffrey Arnett notes that the discovering of one's self continues well into emerging adulthood. Our culture has completely shifted due to the sexual revolution (the invention of birth control), which lead to the increasing tolerance of premarital sex. Since people are now able to plan when to have children, they can push off marriage until later in their lifetime...if at all. 20-somethings are expected to do it all: find a fulfilling occupation, discover your true self so you can live to maximize your happiness, and have a family. Though Arnett mentions how many emerging adults are optimistic, when I think about my life and my future I often get scared. Where will I be in a year? Who will I be with? What will I be doing? Will I get accepted to grad school? Will I still be living at home with my parents? These are tough questions to answer. And, nothing is certain. The only certain thing is that there will always be uncertainty. Some days I'm able to come to terms with where I am in life. On those days I am perfectly content. But, I do hope that I can become more comfortable with uncertainty. I think this will make day to day living a bit easier. Time has a way of working things out.