Mary Philbrick
Elisha Emerson
English 110-H6
15 September 2017
Acknowledging Emerging Adulthood
Imagine giving children a period of time solely for them to find a passion and discover themselves. Acknowledging “emerging adulthood” as an official life stage would not only be helpful to young adults as a whole, but would be beneficial to young adults as individuals as well. As a group, young adults would take a longer amount of time to develop, which would affect society positively in the long run. As individuals, this phase of “emerging adulthood” would give young adults time to find a purpose in life that they are passionate about, which is important according to Thomas King and would give young adults the initiative that Robin Henig believes they lack.
Jeffrey Arnett, a Psychology Research Professor at Clark University, defines emerging adulthood as a life phase between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood where young adults experience an immense amount of development. Giving young adults time to find themselves has a great impact on their development. For example, students that decide to take gap years before attending a college or university. Sixty percent of students said that a gap year helped them decide what subject they wanted to study in the future. And sixty-six percent of students took their school work more seriously after participating in a gap year. Eighty percent of students thought that their gap year added to their employability.
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This period of “emerging adulthood” given to young adults rewards them with the ability to travel as well. It has been proven that traveling expands the mind and provides individuals with the opportunity to meet new people. Traveling teaches students how to adapt to new situations. The life experience gained from traveling would be beneficial to students while also furthering their education and eventually pursuing a career. In his speech, Thomas King describes his experiences living in the Borneo Jungle, standing on the steps of the parliament, and journalizing at the London Olympic Games. These are the kind of trips young adults deserve to be experiencing. If given an extended amount of time to explore their career options, young adults will more likely be positive about the field of work they have chosen.
Having certainty when it comes to an individual’s career gives that individual the advantage of having a passion for what they are doing. On the career front, maintaining a passion can have a positive impact in many ways. Thomas King states life is about “sticking to discover our passions and live a life that makes us excited to get up each morning” (King, Page 3). Passion raises the confidence level of an individual and also gives the individual a higher sense of persistence, which awards them with higher effort. Those are the individuals that will enrich the work force and add something valuable to professional service. One’s certainty and confidence in a job often have more than just economical benefits to young adults, but would have health and mental benefits to young adults as well. Being passionate reduces stress of the employee, while passion in the career field also enhances relationships between the laborer and their clientele.
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Looking forward to going to work can increase mental health and energy which fuels success in an individual’s career.
The phase of emerging adulthood would also increase the period of time in which young adults continue to live with their parents. This elongated amount of time spent with family, would reap many benefits for developing adults. In her writing piece concerning young adults, Robin Henig says, “Parents might regret having themselves jumped into marriage or a career and hope for more considered choices for their children” (Henig, 205). If “emerging adulthood” became an official life phase, parents could continue to advise their children during one of the most developmental times of their child’s life. In this phase, where so much viable development occurs in emerging adults, being surrounded by loved ones and continuing to receive advice from their superiors would have a positive impact on their lives and their future.
Acknowledging “emerging adulthood” as an official life stage would be a positive act for not just young adults as individuals but for society as a whole. Giving emerging adults this official phase of life would be beneficial to their mental health, career passion level, and would increase the quality level of employees being produced and entering society.
