“Behave like an adult if you want to be treated like one.” “You aren’t a child anymore!” Which teenager has ever wanted to be treated like an adult? And how come legal age starts mattering when it’s about consuming alcohol or driving, and all of a sudden, ceases to matter when it’s about the legal age of being an adult? The annoying part is how elders mend the rule of ‘being an adult’ to their convenience. Somehow, we’re not old enough to watch A (Adult) movies, but we’re too old to be watching cartoons. Somehow we’re old enough to stay up till 3 am working on an assignment but we aren’t old enough to be out till that late. We’re old enough to ‘take responsibility’ and remember to submit all those 10,000 assignments, but then how come we’re not given the same rights of an adult to say- vote? Some would say, “we can’t give the responsibility of choosing the next government of our country to a 15-year-old!” So then how come at 15, when we’re just in high school, we’re criticised and looked down upon on when we say we don’t know what we want to do ahead in life? What is being implied is that 15-year-olds are old enough and mature enough to make a decision they have to stick with the rest of their lives, but they’re not mature to choose the future of our country, when they are continuously told, “You are the future of this country!” A few decades ago, if children or teenagers were asked what they wanted to be, they’d choose to be an adult over being a lawyer, an artist or an engineer! In fact, movies like “13 going on 30” were based on the idea of a teenager wanting to be an adult because she was extremely fascinated by the idea of having your own house, earning your own money, being able to buy anything you want, going out and coming back at any time you want. However, just a few decades later, teenagers now shudder at the idea of adulthood. We were unfortunately not allowed to stay in our bubble for too long and were exposed to the harsh realities of adulthood. We know about all the due dates, the deadlines, the taxes, the electricity bills and all the things that are hidden behind the fascinating life of an adult. We’ve all heard of bachelor and bachelorette parties, right? They are to cherish and celebrate those last few moments of leading an unmarried life. Well, our teenage life is exactly like that. It is a period of reminiscing our last few years of being a child. But somehow, it is spent preparing to be an adult. The thing about a married life is that unlike adulthood, it might not last forever. So, this is to all you adults out there who tell children to act like adults. Why should we spend our last few years of childhood trying to be adults, when we have our entire life ahead of us to do so?
-Zara Humranwala, 11A