How do I cope with the transition from teenager to adult? (2024)

I don't want to be an adult, this idea freaks me out and makes me feel old

Is 18 still an adolescent or is considered adult? When are you an adult and no more an adolescent?
20?

What's the difference between teen and adolescent?

And how did you dealed with the teen-adult transition? Was it painful and full of nostalgia?

Cozma Alex said:

I don't want to be an adult, this idea freaks me out and makes me feel old
Is 18 still an adolescent or is considered adult? When are you an adult and no more an adolescent?
20?...

Kids don't or can't do many things adults do. Some very things adults like doing but kids are not allowed to do at their young ages. You can still act like a teen even after you become really old with a good sense of humor for people to enjoy and learn. You will look naughty and cute. But if you act like an adult or old person while you're just a teen, you will have less or no friends and have to deal with lot of things in life more than other ordinary teenagers will.

Sophia said:

...
If your life was hard during the childhood and you had lots of responsibilities you may act like an adult sooner.
...

This is true. I also see most American kids act quite like adults. I guess it's freedom and indulge from their parents or supervisors also. Spoiled kids! but when they become adults, they may change.

Cozma Alex said:

... but is more the idea that something won't come back again that makes me feel bad...

In life, making it easy for others also means making it easy for yourself.
To distinguish love from personal possession, I think what you really love will be what you give away or let go of for others to enjoy and learn from it not what you keep forever by your side.
You're not old when your spirit is still young.

jtbell said:

I was never a teenager. I didn't start really listening to music until I was in high school. At that point I sampled a bit of everything: rock, pop, jazz, classical, country... and settled on classical music. That's all I've listened to, when I've had a choice about it, ever since.

I also started listening to music mostly at high school and I settled on pop ☺

Cozma Alex said:

... I settled on pop ☺

Hey, I have been with vbulletin boards for over a decade, so I can read metaphors. ☻

jtbell said:

I was never a teenager. I didn't start really listening to music until I was in high school. At that point I sampled a bit of everything: rock, pop, jazz, classical, country... and settled on classical music. That's all I've listened to, when I've had a choice about it, ever since.

Your age isn't determined by the music you listen to

ProfuselyQuarky said:

Your age isn't determined by the music you listen to

Living in SoCal is my dream you're so lucky

Cozma Alex said:

I got an easy life without responsibilities

At some point, you're going to have to take on the responsibility of supporting yourself financially, at least. For me, this was when I started graduate school and had an assistantship that paid my tuition and basic living expenses. This was back in the days when it was possible for frugal working-class parents in the US to send a kid to a private college (not an elite one!) for undergraduate.

Later on, it helps if you marry someone who can support him/herself financially if necessary. Children are another matter!

Cozma Alex said:

, but is more the idea that something won't come back again that makes me feel bad...

I do not feel bad that teenager "zits" never came back.
But now I feel bad that my hair is not coming back.
Trade one for the other, they never told me that.

micromass said:

I hated being an adolescent. I hated every second of it. I'm happy it's gone now.

Why did you hate it if I may ask?

Cozma Alex said:

I don't want to be an adult, this idea freaks me out and makes me feel old

Is 18 still an adolescent or is considered adult? When are you an adult and no more an adolescent?
20?

What's the difference between teen and adolescent?

And how did you dealed with the teen-adult transition? Was it painful and full of nostalgia?

Technically, yes, you are still a teenager. But maturity doesn't always come with age. Sometimes adults still act like teenagers, while some teenagers are more mature than many adults I know.

Cozma Alex said:

I don't want to be an adult, this idea freaks me out and makes me feel old

Is 18 still an adolescent or is considered adult? When are you an adult and no more an adolescent?
20?

What's the difference between teen and adolescent?

And how did you dealed with the teen-adult transition? Was it painful and full of nostalgia?

If a person is still adolescing then he or she is an adolescent.

Eight-teen years of age is still a "teen" -ager.
Nineteen years of age is still a "teen"-ager.
Twenty and twenty-one are twenty-teen and twenty-one-teen, and these are also teenagers.

A person is an adult when he or she is mentally and physically mature enough.

If you're having trouble with turning 18 years old, man, you're in for a lifetime of heartache.

Life marches on, regardless of whether you're ready for it. Not only will you turn eighteen on a specific date, twelve years later, you'll turn 30, twenty two years later you'll turn 40, and this just keeps on going. The best anyone can do is take good care of him or herself and try to enjoy each stage of life as it passes

In the US you're an adult.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-...diction-and-transfer-to-adult-court-laws.aspx

EnumaElish said:

In the US you're an adult.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-...diction-and-transfer-to-adult-court-laws.aspx

In the US the legal system treats an 18 yr old as an adult (more or less, still can't drink alcohol), which is not the same thing as actually being one.