~ Yashika Sehgal
Introduction
Turning 18 is definitely believed to be a turning point in everyone’s life. We get our driving license and voter id. Our constitution gives the right to vote to any person who is 18 and above years of age, which is called universal adult franchise or universal suffrage. When we step into this year of our lives, we are considered to be responsible and dutiful. However the question is is this the real meaning of adulthood.
What is Expected Out of Us
Being 18 suddenly gives us the realisation of being an adult. Society expects us to take rational decisions. We often hear the term responsibility after turning into an adult. We are expected to be less dependent on others and doing our work ourselves. We definitely have to take wise decisions even when we are exercising our voters right. We are considered old enough to be able to choose a representative for our country.
Young Adults
People in their late teens or early twenties are called young adults. This is a new emerging concept among the pre- existing concepts of adulthood. Not every person who has attained the age of 18 is sensible or wise enough to cast a vote. Casting a vote is a huge responsibility. It requires full knowledge of what is happening in our surroundings, being fully aware of the whereabouts of the country and then taking a final call on who we think has the ability to represent our country.
Changes that We Experience
In India, when a child attains the age of 18 years, he or she is probably in the 12th standard or about to pass out from school. There is a whole new world outside school that children experience. Schools have a very protective environment. After completing school, there is a whole change in the people around us, the atmosphere around. We lose a lot of friends. We go through a phase of fear and hesitance. It is after school that we step into the competitive world. We are obviously expected to know what is good or bad for us. We need to work dedicatedly towards whatever our goals are.
Being 18 is obviously a great feeling. Not only because we throw great parties when we turn into an adult. This is also because we have a certain responsibility and duty towards our country which we need to fulfil without fail.
Must read: https://skchildrenfoundation.org/gurukul-and-montessori-education-system/