Thoughts.

The Essay of Maturity

I was told to write an essay on what I thought maturity was. According to society, I am banned to have a say in this because I do not fit into the archetype of somebody who is allowed to be mature. For whatever reason, my professor believes that age has nothing to do with the concept of maturity (he'd probably burn in Salem for such a terrible claim) and decided it would be most appropriate if one of his clever students began to elaborate on the matter. If I was allowed to have a say on what the concept is, I'd agree with him that it has absolutely nothing to do with age being that I am too young for my own age, which I believe not to be seventeen.

To explain what maturity is, I'd rather begin with what maturity isn't. With a heavy heart, I must say that immaturity depends on an individual's aptness at channeling his/her emotions which many people fail to do nowadays due to the fact that they never consider changing nor questioning certain ideologies implanted within them at a young age. That automatically cuts away more than seventy percent of the population. People have a tendency of not being able to understand, control or speak about their emotions because that itself is a taboo topic. It is also known that the greatest men do not possess such an inhuman characteristic, thus leading other human beings not being able to mature in that aspect (because why would anyone settle for the weaker man?). Another sign of immaturity would be emotionally harassing an opponent one is debating with, intending to humiliate them with certain personal facts not even related to the topic, when losing an argument. It's either that or those people, in general, are completely mad. A third sign of immaturity is mechanically condemning a person from being able to be mature for whatever reason (it being social status, age, gender or previous unforgettable behavior of yours when you were eleven years old). I also believe that it is ridiculous claiming someone to be immature if they had made a devastating mistake such as accidentally and slightly denting their car in a parking lot that had no exit over a certain period of time due to absent-minded individuals. It is something mostly our parents nowadays have to understand - that someone making a mistake doesn't mean that they are immature, but perhaps forgetful or thoughtful at the time (even though that is breaking two of the Ten Commandments).

In short: a mature person is able to compromise, able to get over their egoistic nature for the sake of others, able to speak about themselves in a reasonably calm tone, and is capable of not demeaning others and giving them a chance to prove themselves "worthy". A mature person has arguments, and when they are torn down, he/she is able to claim that they had made a mistake so that whatever dispute hovers is able to end in a short period of time. That being said cuts away another twenty-five percent of the population. No. Not many people are mature, and people should quit giving themselves the right to depict a human being as being mature. We do not know other people; therefore we do not have a right to comment other people.

Perhaps the actions, but never the person.

That is why I don't even recognize maturity as a proper concept. It should be a form of self-reflection.