Do You Feel You've Matured Since You Were a Teenager (19)?

[BBCjunkie]

Originally Posted by Avalon08

but to me, he just reminds me of a big kid.

One of the nicest things my now-ex-SIL ever said to me (although I suspect that she didn't mean it as a compliment, LOL) was that she "always thought of me as being just a big kid." I did take it as a compliment though, it struck me as a nice thing to be regarded as. In other words that I was a happy and enthusiastic kind of person.

I was in my 50s at the time and to this day I don't know exactly what she meant by that comment, lol

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

I don't know what "matured" means, really, but I don't think I have done it.

I am basically the same person as I was when I was 19, except more healed (and more damaged, simultaneously!), and "wiser" (I learned how to do some stuff). But basically, I am not more intelligent, or that much different. How about you?

But your question was whether you've matured. That doesn't have much to do with being more or less intelligent or a different person. You are probably a more mature version of that person you were at 19. Rough edges smoothed off, etc. Why wouldn't the passage of 40+ years modify how you express or view the human you have been all along? Guess I don't understand what you are asking.

[oldgardener]

I haven't matured...I was born mature, and still am.

My favorite thing to do in the 3rd grade was read biographies, the more the better. I read so much, the school librarian packed boxes of nonfiction books for me to take home every summer. Indira Gandhi was my role model. I loved watching Walter Cronkite on the news every night, as I thought he had important things to say, and I followed the news constantly.

When I was 14 or 15, I felt I should get a job so I could pay my own way, buy my own clothing and such, plus buy clothing for my mother, so I got a job to do that. I also helped with chores around the house, and kept my own room spotless. By the time I was 16, I was working 40 hours per week in the summer, and 20 hours per week during the school year. As a teenager, I refused to take risks, and refused to follow the crowd if I thought it would lead someplace I shouldn't be. By the time I was 19, I was working full time and was completely independent, all the while parenting my younger sister.

I'm a bit more fun now than I was as a child...hopefully.

[Gerania]

I certainly hope so. Despite many demands, I could be a total jerk. I haven't been able to get away with that in decades. Thankfully.