Growing up is never easy. It does not happen overnight, nor does it happen immediately as we start college. Yes, we all wish that people would just “grow up” as soon as they get to the entrance gate of their new home for the next four years, but that is certainly not how it works. All states have a legal age that they consider citizens an adult, but that may not be the case for their actual maturity. Eighteen is still very young to claim your rights to being an adult. No one knows much at eighteen, not even at thirty or sixty for that matter. Age is only a number, not a reason for someone to act certain way.
There have been plenty of instances where I have looked around a room and thought to myself “How is this person in college, what is wrong with them!” Truth of the matter, it’s none of my business how anyone got into college, they got there the same way I did, and I could only hope that over time they will grow to see that the sassy remarks that they are making to the professor are unnecessary and that they should treat the professor with as much respect as the professor treats them with; but again, who I am to be commenting on these things. Everyone grows at their own pace, give them time and they might make you think twice about the person you thought them to be and the person that they are. If we all put just a little faith in one another, it could make a difference. We are entitled to think the little comments about a situation or person, but once those comments become vocal, there is no taking them back. Who becomes wrong in that situation; who is really the “mature” person?
As I write this, I am reflecting on who I was when I first started college versus who I am today. Today, I stay away from the lingering drama. I am there for my friends who need to vent, but I know the difference between slandering someone to see my friends happy that I’ve taken “their side” of the situation and just laying out an outsider’s opinion of the situation and offering ways to correct the situation. I believe that once you are put in a difficult situation that challenges you physically and emotionally that it matures you. When my father passed away, it was hard, and still is, on everyone around me. All my life, everyone had always said how I embodied my father’s humor, outgoingness, and companionship. Ever since he passed away, I’ve stepped in to be everyone’s rock as they try to get back to normalcy, and try to give them as much love and empathy as I possibly can. Whether that has truly matured me, I do not know, but I am finding comforting in showing everyone some mutual respect regardless if they show some respect back. You can be beautiful on the outside, but let that beauty from within have some time to shine without the hurtful, disrespectful comments.