Adults?... Already?

Recently in class we have been discussing the development of human lives and the milestones that we pass while on this journey. I found it interesting that in class we were only naming milestones placed on us by society, "artificial" milestones as I like to call them. Things like getting your license at 16, being able to go see R rated movies on your own at 17, and being considered a legal adult at 18. Then when Sal said "how about learning to walk" I felt like I should have face-palmed on my own behalf because, actual developmental milestones like those didn't even come to mind until then. I then realized how we as a society put much greater emphasis on these "artificial" milestones, rather than the developmental milestones that actually have meaning like learning to walk, talk, etc. This also relates to conformity (a topic on which I touched on in my previous blog post) in the sense that the "artificial" milestones are expectations put on us by our society. For instance, in July I'll be a legal adult. This is strange because I haven't thought about it very much until recently, at 18 I'll be legally responsible for myself. I'm sure not much will change in my life besides the fact that I'll be moving out of the house and going to college. Hopefully I will make an easy transition but I can't help but think about teens my age who won't be prepared for something like this. Like the article we read in class "Putting Teen-Parent Conflicts into Perspective", we are forced into adulthood perhaps before we are ready. Like a small child being thrown into a pool, will we swim or struggle to keep our heads above water.