By Samuel Lam, Staff Writer

18. A number that became a mantra of “I can’t wait” ever since we found out its meaning. The age we finally become, legally, adults. The mystical number in which we, as teenagers enter into adulthood. However, as we draw closer and closer to this age, we start to wonder, what does this exactly entail? What does it mean to actually be an adult? 

Ever since we were children, we constantly were nagged by our parents by them saying things such as “as long as you are under my roof” or “as long as you are a child, you must listen to what I say”. As such, they got away with making us do anything and everything, regardless of whether or not we enjoyed it. Considering this, Kyle Chan (12), looks forward to more independence and freedom from his parents as he looks forward to his 18th birthday. However, thinking about it also brings about a sense of longing and nostalgia, as this would mean moving away from his family and hometown as college approaches. “Not being able to see my family every day will take some time getting used to,” Kyle says and is quite the turnaround that many have as they grow in maturity and age. Speaking of freedom, when asked what they thought about adulthood, one senior is looking forward to pursuing a crippling gambling addiction throughout their college career. 

But with this independence and freedom comes its responsibilities. As a young child, many responsibilities, such as cleaning, bills, and driving all fall to our parents. Sometimes, these responsibilities even fall to our older siblings, as they become adults earlier than we do. Fellow senior Gabriel Ng Solano (12), looks forward to sharing these responsibilities with his family and no longer being entirely dependent. He sees adulthood as an opportunity to “step up and fill shoes” left behind by his sister before he moves on to college. 

While many seniors see adulthood as an opportunity to take responsibility and own up to being an adult, quite a few people see it in a not-so-positive light. Or rather, they don’t see the responsibilities required of an adult favorably. One of these responsibilities is that of taxes. As an adult, you can no longer get away with tax evasion because you are required by law to do tax returns so the IRS can determine what your taxable income rate is. Erika Kita (12), is one already dreading this upcoming responsibility. Another senior, Jamie Wong (12), gave a more succinct answer when asked her opinion on whether she is excited to enter adulthood, “no”. To some, this idea of adulthood just isn’t as appealing and attractive as many make it out to be. When asked for advice, one alumnus said “The transition can be rough. It definitely takes some time to get used to and is a daunting task. The best word of advice is don’t try to become independent right out of high school. Leaning on your parents is still okay, but you must start to wean yourself off”. This is advice I feel we all must take, whether we are greatly anticipating or dreading the day we turn 18 and must face becoming an adult.