Unedited Scenes of Emerging Adult Life

"In many movies, life after eighteen looks like a breeze, at least that is what I envisioned as a freshman in high school. Now, four years later, my perspective has changed vastly. In the motion pictures, I was able to surround myself so easily with a false picture of what “adulting” really looked like. Risk taking, parenthood, and in some cases divorce, are some of the most challenging areas one can part-take in as an adult. For me, learning about which risks are worth endeavoring myself in has been the greatest challenge so far.

Thankfully, however, I am not alone.

In fact, according to Balogh (2013), many emerging adults struggle to making these life-dependent (and independent) choices that actually start in adolescence. Quote, “...Multiple factors likely contribute to this phenomenon, including biological changes, peer pressure, individual differences in genetic composition and environmental exposures, and cultural and family influences” (Balogh, 2013). We are constantly being challenged with which risky behavior to part-take in; whether it is activities such as having just one drink, expressing our love for someone, physically or virtually, or even participating in distracted driving. At the time, the rush of participating in this behavior was the reasoning I needed to continue to do so.

Similarly, by definition, risk-taking is more often acted on without premeditated thought or planning. When it comes to assessing our risk-taking behavior, Balogh describes this type of behavior to be acted on by an impulse. Those in the stages of adolescence give in more to peer pressure, however, I feel that some emerging adults tend to fall for this as well (Balogh, 2013). Throughout the article, Balogh stresses how each and every choice we as humans make has a direct consequence to follow. Whether positive or negative, once we decide we must immediately accept the ramifications that come after.

In the text, it states that those who choose to engage in this kind of behavior are labeled as “deviant” or “criminal.” “...although some risks are unhealthy in nature, such as smoking and risky sex, they are still “socially sanctioned…” (Balogh, 2013). This correlates with what Doctor Harvey said in her lecture on Merging Adulthood. “Risk-taking does not stop once you reach a certain age or have participated in a particular number of activities” (Harvey, 2019).

To make a connection, each action requires a commitment. Sometimes these commitments can be long term. Looking back, I now see the overall effect my actions had on my life. During the moment and even today, I am still unsure how such a shocking event in my life changed caused my mindset on life itself to change. Like many others, at the time I chose to ignore the fact that these defenseless situations would affect me mentally, physically and emotionally just a short time later. Despite this though, I would never change my past to “better” my future."

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