Unpacking what coming of age means (?)
The words "coming of age" means something different to everyone. I used to think of it being the time where you're going through puberty back when I was in elementary school, because that's what was implied by our teachers. After experiencing puberty, while I did change physically, mentally, and emotionally, I didn't necessarily feel that I had "come of age" because I didn't feel something drastic had happened to me, like I was expecting.
Now, I personally think that a person never stops "coming of age", but rather goes through experiences that impact them and gain something that will benefit them in the future. As human beings, we are constantly learning and growing so we can become better versions of ourselves, and I believe that's the base of "coming of age". You do that your entire life, you never stop learning. Even you're an eighty year old man, you can still " come of age".
For example, some old people are ignorant about certain issues, but when they educate themselves, they can come from that experience as a different person. I'm not saying that if you educate yourself about something, then you've come of age, but educating yourself about certain issue can certainly manifest into an important learning experience and impact you in a very powerful way.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that to "come of age", you have to go through some sort of experience. It doesn't have to be this huge monumental experience, it can be something simple, but what's important is that it impacts you and influences you for the better.
Now, I personally think that a person never stops "coming of age", but rather goes through experiences that impact them and gain something that will benefit them in the future. As human beings, we are constantly learning and growing so we can become better versions of ourselves, and I believe that's the base of "coming of age". You do that your entire life, you never stop learning. Even you're an eighty year old man, you can still " come of age".
For example, some old people are ignorant about certain issues, but when they educate themselves, they can come from that experience as a different person. I'm not saying that if you educate yourself about something, then you've come of age, but educating yourself about certain issue can certainly manifest into an important learning experience and impact you in a very powerful way.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that to "come of age", you have to go through some sort of experience. It doesn't have to be this huge monumental experience, it can be something simple, but what's important is that it impacts you and influences you for the better.
I agree I think that coming of age happens throughout your life. For example you could say that you have come of age when you have your first child. But then you do not really know how to be a parent and you have to learn how to be one. That could be seen as coming of age again.
ReplyDeleteI reached the same conclusion when I was thinking about when (or if) we come of age. Coming of age is founded on the idea that after an experience you are somehow ready to tackle the challenges of life. But since no one is ever ready for everything, we all learn and grow, no matter our age and background.
ReplyDeleteI do agree to some degree that coming of age happens throughout your life - however, I wonder if we can define "coming of age" as just a period of learning and growing as a person that just happens to take place in adolescence. We all continue to grow and learn throughout our lives - it's a crucial part of being human - however, most people have specific experiences of learning and growing in their late teens and early twenties that help them feel more ready to learn how to overcome the challenges of life, and develop the person they are. It is not a unique experience to a lifetime, and it doesn't mean we're completely ready for everything life will throw at us or that we've stopped developing, but we've still "come of age" -- we've learned and grown or will learn and will grow from our experiences and decisions we're making right now at this specific time in our life.
ReplyDeleteI really like this interpretation of coming of age. I think that the "constant improvement" mentality is a good one to have. No one is perfect, not even when they're adults, and you should always try to figure out your faults, and, even more importantly, try to fix them. I also like what you said about old people educating themselves. A lot of old people are really stuck in their ways, and I don't know if that's a natural part of aging or what, but I think it would benefit everyone if they adopted or were taught more progressive mentalities (especially because they can still vote).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about that it happens throughout life. Oftentimes when we're young (and mirrored by Stephen in the novel), adults and people we look up to lecture us about the "real world" and everything we don't know about, giving off the impression that they have it all together. But when we get older, we realize that no has it all together. In fact, I'd go as far as to say there is no such thing as having "it all together", at least in a long-term sense. As we see in Stephen's case, he goes from looking up to his father to him getting a bit ticked at his shortcomings to viewing his father as this complete buffoon.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting that you describe coming of age as a continual process that never truly ends. I agree with this in that there is no way to pin point one exact moment in which we have come of age, since maturity is built up piece by piece. It’s kind of like evolution; at what point did us humans become the humans who know? It’s impossible to pinpoint a single moment in which we changed from monkeys to humans since evolution is a gradual process just like coming of age
ReplyDeleteI forget who made the analogy but, "Coming of Age: comING, meaning as a process it is still happening. one never comes of age because they are still developing as a person." I love this definition of the word, even if Age maybe isn't the right word for it because it accounts for development past teenage years, something we all will go through.
ReplyDeleteI agree that coming of age is a process that can happen at any stage of life. There can be so many moments in your life that redefine who you are as a person or change your fundamental values. We're all coming of age now, and we will be coming of age for our entire lives. However, I think that this time right now in high school is probably the epicenter of our coming of age stories. Right now is when we most need to start thinking about who we are and who we want to be.
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