THE IN-BETWEEN

Emerging Adult

Emerging adulthood has been quite a struggle of feeling in-between being a complete independent adult, yet still dependent on my parents. Especially after entering college, my relationship with my parents has gotten stronger and I have much more respect and appreciation for them compared to my high school days. I have also found myself trying to explore and find my identity. There have been times where I have debated changing my major to something more related to science or technology, since society values those areas more in the workforce. However, I have also had a positive attitude about the future of having many possibilities with what to do with my life, especially after leaving my home for college. I may not make more money than my father since he is an engineer, but I believe I will be better off than my mother in terms of career and money making. I am also optimistic of being able to travel the world while still having a job because of the accessibility of different countries through the Internet and planes. 

Although freedom from my parents has been awesome, I cannot say I haven't felt the feelings of instability. I have had to move 3 times in less than 4 years--something I am not used to doing! I also have a hard time with choosing a single "home" since SLO and San Diego are both considered my "home." I also have switched jobs so many times in the past four years, I think the fact of someone my age having 6-8 careers in their lifetime is starting to feel real. The only stability I have been able to maintain is my intimate relationship, which I find to be much more mature, open-minded, and accepting compared to my middle school intimate relationships. 

I think this developmental stage is the time I have used the most technology in my life. One example is seen in the photo, where I am at Disneyland with my family. Just at our Disney journey we used a car to get there, used fast-pass machines, rode many rides, and used a smartphone and/or camera most of the day to take photos. In my everyday life, especially after college, my computer usage has been at its highest because of all the papers, readings, and assignments being online. I have also used my smartphone at its highest rate too because of Apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, etc. It's sad to say I cannot go a day without using technology since it has become such a necessity. Hopefully I can work on decreasing my technology use once I am done with school.