Emerging Adulthood

The transition from adolescent to adulthood is something everyone has or will go through in their life, in the new generation of Millennial this transition seems to be elongated and now referred to as “Emerging Adulthood”. Emerging Adulthood is a coined term by Jeffery Arnett for a new transitional period between adolescence and adulthood where people experience self discovery, instability, optimism, and self-focused in the ages of 18-25. This new transitional period is a phenomenon that only occurs within individuals in developed countries, middle class socioeconomic status, and most often attending a secondary school. It is a fascinating new time period in which has the media roaring in questions about what this will mean for the future
The Millennial generation has a reputation for being the most untrustworthy of all of their predecessors. This shown to ring true as a Millennial, Kaitlyn, was asked about when she started to trust herself she noted not until college age. This was a much different answer from Ken, the Baby Boomer, gave saying he felt he could trust himself middle school/early high school. The transition of trusting ones own choices indicates a sign of changing times. The lack of trust from the Millennial generation is potentially from life events that occurred in their early ages. “The erosion in confidence is impossible to blame on any one factor because it is so widespread. I believe that the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made clear in a very powerful and frightening way that those tasked with protecting us might not always be able to do it. That led to a general sense of unease amid the populace that the bad behavior of Wall Street, the faltering economy, an ineffectual Congress and the string of high-profile killings of black men by police have all heightened.”(Chillizza, 1). After experiencing many major societal events it is no surprise that trust seems to be at an all time low. “Regardless of school of thought, Millennial’s do have a non-trusting reputation. The survey results, show that this isn’t always the case.” (Cillizza, 1) The trust in society seems to
To become a sole authority figure in ones own life is a large task to take on, this transition requires trust in the decisions that get made. This transition is not an easy one and often takes time and reaffirmation to install confidence. Even with the all the confidence in ones self, making a decision can still be a very daunting task. “There are some things that just don’t come with guarantees or instructions and you just have to trust you gut, take the leap of faith and muddle through with you instincts….it’s just one of those things where you set everything in line as best you can.” (Magolda,