“Grown up” is a title for the mature

Growing up is no longer an act as much as it is an illusion. Society and the "fabulous" Hollywood world both have fooled many young adults into thinking that being grown up equates to a lack of clothing and terrible attitudes. If only maturity wasn't a misunderstanding.

Many teenagers believe that their label alone owes them a whole new world of privileges and rights. Instead of asking their parents, their primary caretakers and financial support, they tell them when and what they are doing. What they fail to realize is that some things must be earned, not expected. Both the younger members of the current generation and some of the older ones would much rather have everything handed to them on a silver platter. Working hard for typical rites of passage and material things, a true sign of maturity, is quickly becoming a thing of the past. As long as young adults and those quickly coming behind them continue to follow Hollywood's flawed example, growing up, really growing up, will become a mockery.

Disrespect and stupidity has slowly become the new marker of growing up. Sure, by legal definition turning eighteen makes someone an "adult," but in no way does it mean that they are mature enough to truly be one. When young adults finally learn to take responsibility for their actions, give the due respect to authority and realize that partying and tight, barely there clothing only makes them a fool, perhaps a much wiser generation will rise up and be a better example for its successors.