Aside from turning 16 and getting a car or turning 21 and being able to go out and party, turning 18 years old is a huge milestone for a lot of teenagers. But should it really be?

The definition of adulthood is “the state or condition of being fully grown or mature.” If that’s the case, then turning 18 and “entering adulthood” is a lie. The average person doesn’t have a brain that is fully developed and matured until their mid-to-late 20s. Meaning, turning 18 doesn’t make someone an adult at all. 

I remember when I woke up on my 18th birthday. I was really excited to be entering adulthood like the rest of my siblings had. But, when I woke up, I didn’t feel any older or wiser or more mature.

Parents and relatives will always ask on birthdays “do you feel any older?” No. Not when I turned 18. I felt the same. Probably because turning 18 is nothing special. There’s no legal limit that is now open and free to conquer when turning 18. At 16, it’s legal to drive. At 21, it’s legal to drink. At 18, the most someone can do is vote.

If being 18 brings nothing more than what a regular 17, 19 or 20-year-old already has, then should it really be considered one of those huge milestones? I think not. But who am I to talk? My brain isn’t fully developed anyways.