Column: I just turned 21; what do I do next?
Over this Thanksgiving break, I had my 21st birthday, and a friend of mine pointed out this was the last landmark birthday I had before entering adulthood.
People look forward to turning 21 because they can drink and party legally for the first time, and the birthday comes a huge celebration of this momentous age.
My own birthday had the usual festivities with good friends and company, but the next day I woke up realizing I had turned 21.
With 21 comes the pressure of actually growing up and entering actual adulthood. With actual adulthood comes the responsibility of finding a career, paying bills on my own and moving out into my own independence, without fully relying on parents’ help.
Other cultures around the world have rituals or ceremonies to signify when someone becomes an adult, but here the responsiblity of becoming an adult slowly gets added each year.
In high school there was always talk of beginning adulthood after turning 16 or 18, but that’s just the starting line to adulthood, not the finishing lap.
Everyone feels like they have entered adulthood with those ages, as they can drive and vote – things that seemed exclusive only in the grown up world. In our culture, though, growing up is more than driving or marking a name on a ballot.
It is about knowing you are prepared enough to enter this grown up world and take care of yourself and know you can handle the responsibility.
After turning 21 the feeling of maturity and responsibility might not be there, and even in the days leading to my birthday, it just seemed to be another year older. But, like it or not, this age does bring about the new feeling of impending adulthood. The important matter is that after this landmark year, the next one will be turning 30.
By that time my life should be on track and plans made at 21 should start being realized.
It is a daunting feeling knowing in 18 months graduation will be bearing down and I will be flung out into this world.
The short amount of time left at Eastern should be used for fun, but also planning ahead for whatever the world might bring.
I will spend my last leg of Eastern having having a good time, but also looking to the horizon of actual adulthood – excited for what’s coming next.
Bob Galuski is a junior English major.
He can be reached at 581-2812 or
