Barreca On Maturity

Maturity isn’t something you can just explain in a definition and expect everyone to fit into that category. Although it’s not age based, it is something that everyone is unique in, with no one on the same maturity level as the person next to them. Gina Barreca discusses this in her article “Maturity is Getting it Done, No Whining.” Another article “Critical Convictions: On Maturity” by Donald Vroon states the same topic through very similar ideas. Vroon says “age is no guarantee of maturity. Many people never mature, and we have met immature people of all ages.” (par2) What makes a person mature and how can we determine our own maturity? Elizabeth Scott and Laurence Steinberg article “Adolescent Development and the Regulation of Youth Crime”
A person shows their maturity through their actions. Words can be meaningless. It is always easy to say something yet, most turn around and do the opposite. What we do when no one else is around watching, shows who we truly are. Barreca says “Here’s what maturity does: Maturity fills the salt shakers and it wipes down the shelves in the fridge when they are sticky. It empties the kitty litter before stalagmites form. Maturity understands that there can be one junk drawer in the house, but not 27” (par7). A mature person takes responsibility without having someone constantly prodding them to do it. “Maturity asks for help, asks for forgiveness and asks if there is a good time to talk. When maturity goes out for a cup of coffee, it asks if you want one. When maturity argues, it also listens. When maturity laughs, it’s recognition of its own connection to the human condition and it’s not at the expense of others” (Barreca par18). She shows us that a mature person is; considerate, compassionate, and caring, not thoughtless and
In Vroons article “Critical Convictions: On Maturity” he says “Perhaps maturity means, among other things, outgrowing the childish without losing the best childlike qualities” (par4). For example, being able to accept criticism or letting things go even when our ego has been bruised. Maturity is a person who can swallow their pride and take accept the being dishonest. Our actions speak louder than words and make our maturities (or immaturities) stand out. “Maturity is not a moral category, so there’s no sense prescribing a pattern of life for people to live up to; but one can describe qualities the fully developed human beings seem to have in common” (Vroon par1). Everyone reaches maturity at different times because everyone grows up in different environments, some have to grow up too soon baring many responsibilities at a young