Week 6: Jones: ADULTHOOD!

Chapters 9 and 10 this week discussed early and middle adulthood. In some ways I feel like many of us, since we are currently in these stages, would consider much of the information shared in the text as prior knowledge. Personally, the chapter on early adulthood functioned more as a confirmation of knowledge I already had due to personal experience and observation of the experiences of my peers. However, many of the supporting statistics and visual representations of the information given by the text served to be very helpful in expanding my understanding of the early adulthood demographic.

            For example, consumption of alcohol among young adults is very common, and quite frequent in my opinion. The text supports this on p. 213 stating, “binge drinking among young adults remains at a high level.” The graph on this page is a great visual support to the statistics about young adult male binge alcohol consumption. It is no secret that the “night life” or “bar scene” is very popular amongst young adults. It is a casual social setting that many of us engage in on any given night of the week… Unless you are enrolled as a Trinity student… Then you are tabling those cocktails until after graduation. (Light humor)

I can personally relate to this chapter in many ways, obviously because it is my current stage of development. However, I was struggling severely with young adulthood in my early twenties. I graduated from a four-year university with a music degree. I was cast into the real world with no real plan or identity. Soon I found myself searching for validation, identity, and friendship, which according to the text is absolutely normal. However I was searching in all the wrong places. After a few long years of struggling with alcohol, I found myself completely lost: Emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. December 22^nd, 2010 I admitted myself into a program that saved my life. Since then I have defeated many odds with alcohol and tobacco. This is a very prevalent issue among young adults. It is a social act, a stress reliever, but above all it is and/or can be an addiction that can greatly alter the future stages of one’s development.

I am forever grateful for my sobriety. It has allowed my early adulthood development to continue to great lengths. I did not chose to share this story for pretentious or prideful reasons, rather I feel that so many young adults confide in and mask their true selves with these substances, which can severely delay or even prevent other important developmental elements to take place. I tell my story in hopes to inform and inspire others who may have a similar situation.

With all that being said, chapter 10 freaks me out. I am terrified of getting older. In my young naïve mind, many of the changes that take place from young adulthood to middle adulthood are just a preview of what is to come. Health risks increase while sexuality begins to slowly decline, and relationships become fewer but more significant.

I have recently watched my parents experience “empty nest syndrome”. My youngest brother moved away to college 2 years ago and in that time I have witnessed a great deal of change in my parents relationship not only with each other but with us boys too. It was just like the text discussed on p. 247, “it allowed time to rediscover the positive aspects of their relationship.” They go on weekend get-away trips, and set up dinner dates with us boys. While it is evident that they miss the 3 of us dearly, they seem to be having a little more fun these days. So I guess with that being said, it isn’t ALL down hill from here!