Growing up is a big thing and funnily enough its not the big things, like being old enough to drive or eventually when I can legally drink, that will mark me as a grown up, but the little things. For me, some huge points in my life have been things like joining the ski patrol, something I dreamt of doing my entire childhood because i grew up around it; both my parents have been patrollers for over 30 years. Another big one was being deemed mature enought to read a book with some ... suggestive scenes in it. But I think the biggest thing that has happened, which really made me stop and think wow, I'm growing up, was probably when I was able to intelligently discuss and debate world problems and issues with my mom.
In my family, we watch the news every night, my parents have always liked to keep updated with what is going on in the world and as a result i really value being knowledgable on the world and everything going on with it. I stay ontop of the news, I google stuff that I'm interested in, in my personal blog I often talk about world issues that frusterate me and I think that people who don't stay ontop of the news are ignorant and ... to put it nicely, really need to fix that.
After watching CBC for the past couple days, my mom and I have been discussing the crisis in Egypt a lot. Wondering what the outcome will be, wondering what Mubarak will do, wondering how this will effect the world. We've been trading theories, opinions and ideas back and forth agreeing and disagreeing with each other on certain things.
Last night while lying in bed I realized, wow, this is huge. Being able to intelligently give opinions and ideas, to inform my mom of somethings going on, and to sound like I have credible opinions, is monumental for me. Its exciting to feel this, its kind of amazing as well, I feel like an intelligent contributer to society. :) I feel grown up.
Great post. Find the issues you're interested in and get informed. This is something that was difficult for the older generation partly because of a lack of access to information. Now you can join a personal learning community online and get so well informed you can teach parents and grandparents something. And the key to those older generations' learning is if they have the flexiblity to allow a teenager to teach them a thing or two!!!!!!! Keep learning, and lovin' it!
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