People are expected to be capable of doing particular things at a certain age, and one of the most tender ages is emerging adulthood which approximately lasts form 18 until 28 years old. This is a period when young people have to find their paths in life and to make big decisions which will influence their future. Basically, their whole lives depend on the choices which are made during the time of emerging adulthood.
During my college years I tried to develop my intellectual competence, but also social and physical. I developed critical thinking skills because I believe they are important for the life of any adult and for progress in business. Physical competence is also important for me because it is related to health and I try to lead a balanced lifestyle. However, I think that I should improve my social competence because I tend to react to fast without much thinking. When it comes to managing emotions, I am trying to prepare myself for the real world and to be capable to keeping emotions under control so that they do not get on my way to success. It is important to express emotions but also to be able to control them. I believe that I am successful to move between autonomy and interdependence because I value team work and cooperation. This is the area I was never trying to avoid and I would rank myself eight on a scale of one to ten.
I am also working on improving interpersonal relationships that are mature because it is an integral part of growing up and being a responsible adult. I have already established my identity although I listen to myself as much as possible because identity changes with age and wisdom. “A major task of emerging adulthood is to develop a core sense that one’s life has a meaningful purpose” (Minnesota State University Mancato). The purpose in life has always been very important for me and I am trying to follow what is right. Also, integrity is a valuable personal trait of every human being and I believe that all the people should care of their integrity in order to be honorable and respected people.
My next developmental task in managing emotions will be to work on the way to prevent emotions from ruining my plans and relationships with other people. I would also like to become more interdependent because I do not trust people very much and tend to appreciate autonomy more. However, it being able to realize interdependency is an important part of emotional intelligence. Moreover, I am still trying to find my real purpose in life and I plan to do that by furthering my studies and by engaging in some experience in the workplace. I am not trying to ignore any areas of emerging adulthood, but I am having difficulty with social competence because it depends on the level of maturity. In my opinion, I am still not a self-sufficient adult, but I am trying to become a person who has integrity. I made mistakes when I was younger, for example I had an incident with RA at university when I was warned about making too much noise and not cooperating with the advisor, but I worked on resolving my issues. I am a more mature person now and I am taking responsibilities for my actions. Also, I am careful about choosing friends and I have become very selective in this area because people can influence each other in a positive or a negative way.
In hindsight, I have applied much of this learning on my decisions while USCS because I developed my emotional intelligence and learned how to manage my emotions. I have developed critical thinking skills as well and I value physical competence. Unfortunately, I still make bad judgments about people from time to time and I am working on improving this area of my life. I have a sense of purpose in life, although I am still trying to fit in. However, I am aware that the road to having a good life lies in good organization. Integrity is very important for me because I appreciate being respected and I respect people who always try to do the right thing. It is difficult, but with practice, anything is possible and I know that I will become a responsible adult soon because I am becoming more mature all the time.
The areas in which I made significant growth are developing relationships, managing emotions and moving toward interdependence because these areas are most important for survival in the workplace and in life in general. Having a family means being able to manage emotions and put another person’s emotions first. It is also important to manage emotions in order to develop a meaningful relationship with another human being. Interdependence is the area which is important for family life as well, but it is also important at work. People have to be able to rely on each other in order to create a functional community.
I plan to work on all areas of emerging adulthood, especially on my purpose in life because I have to be satisfied in order to be healthy and happy. I will be more productive if I manage to find my purpose and it will also be beneficial for people around me. The process of growing up is difficult and it has to be worked on so that a human being can be fully developed. My inner being is what is hidden and needs to be discovered and that is why I also have to work on expressing my emotions.
Works Cited
"Emerging Adulthood." Minnesota State University Mankato. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. <https://www.mnsu.edu/counseling/facultyemergingadulthood.html>.
