Alvarez 1

Bernarda P. Alvarez

English 101-006

Paula Boyd

9 December 2018

Migrating into Adulthood Revised

What methods must be taken to become a competent, independent and financially stable

adult? Migrating into adulthood could be rewarding, but the transition from adolescent into a

mature liberated adult is not an easy task. The responsibility that is consumed at the start of a

transition into becoming an adult could sometimes be a hurdle we must overcome. As diverse

human beings with cultural differences, each with unique goals and aspirations, the journey into

adulthood could happen at any time.

As children there is an admiration towards independency in which an adult possesses.

Having the freedom to make choices, what to wear, what to do and how to speak. As adolescents

we dream about our adulthood. To have the authority and responsibility over ourselves. On the

other hand, what do we lose on the journey into adulthood? What sacrifices need to be made?

When do we gain the privilege to call ourselves adults? This may come to individuals at different

times in life. For example, in the article “The Moment I Knew I Was an Adult” by Teresa Lee,

one of the moments she realizes she is an adult is when she resists the urge to call her parents or

her superiors after her first car accident. She overcame an issue many of us will face at one point

or another by courageously taking responsibility for one’s actions. Rather than having someone
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else take the fault. Learning self-care, no longer relying on others. Exploring self-independence,

having the ability to dig ourselves out of any hole we put ourselves in are all “baby steps” as Lee

puts it in her article. These are stepping stones to a life of self-responsibility and having authority

over your actions.

Because we are all come from diverse backgrounds the point in which we become adults

happens inversely at different ages. In my interview, FA stated that she felt a sense of

independence at the start of her voyage into adulthood when she began to work. She had no

choice but to work as a migrant worker at the age of fifth teen. This caused FA to grow up faster

than others. She learned the value of a dollar while adding onto the household income. As a field

employee she earned a hard-working quarter for each fruit basket filled, “I would sometimes cry

because the work was so hard to do only to earn a quarter for my hard work done” FA

emphasized how migrating helped her become an adult. The duty that came with her new job

molded her into learning lifelong lessons. Having the authority and control over her finances

made her feel like an adult. FA stated “Como ya tenía dinero, compré mi ropa y mis zapatos”,

English translation is “Since I had money, I bought my own clothes and shoes”. Signifying her

ability to control her finances and having the freedom and jurisdiction to choose her clothing.

She had gone over a small but vital threshold into adulthood by being forced into employment.

FA disclosed her gratefulness for the independency she gained even though she did not have

“normal” teenage years compared to others. At fifth teen years old she felt she was no longer a

juvenile. Unknowingly this was the beginning of FA’s adulthood.

The rocky road that follows adulthood was not easy to drive without a bit of help or

inspiration from others. Although at times and in certain situations you must take the next step

alone. For example, when parents teach us how to drive. Fist we learn the aspects of driving,
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then obtain our permit, and finally a few months later we can take the driving test and hopefully

receive our drivers license. We initially learn to drive with others aside us but it’s up to us to pass

the driver’s test on our own. They give us the torch and it’s up to us to keep it lit. This is a small

step into adulthood with a sense of obligation to become a safer driver, otherwise acquiring a

driver license in the first place was a waste of time. In my interview FA explained how she first

learned how to drive at sixteen years old with her father teaching her. Receiving her permit at

seventeen years old and her driver’s license at eighteen. She stated, “my dad helped me get my

first car and that if I wanted to keep it I had to take my license out”. She expressed how learning

to drive gave her liberty. She did not feel like she needed to depend on anyone to drive her

anywhere, she could do it herself. Her dad had educated her in driving and gave her the basics of

how to care for the vehicle. That after taking in this knowledge she no longer needed his

assistance. These steps are vital to feel the freedom of adulthood. The capability to feel liberated

and becoming accountable for a vehicle. Learning to deal with all that comes with becoming a

driver and owning a car. This threshold that we pass as young adults is an important step into

feeling competent.

As a proud Latina the most adult thing that could possibly be done is leaving your

parents’ house. In my culture it’s not uncommon for young adults to still live with their parents

throughout college unless they are married. It’s very unusual in our community for someone to

just leave their parents’ house as soon as they turn eighteen. Let me exaggerate on this because

under Latino rules, once the big “one-eight” comes around it does not automatically mean

you’ve gone into adulthood and now are free to do whatever. It never works like that, trust me, it

is their house their rules. How could one feel like an adult while still living with their parents? In

my interview FA expressed how happy she was to be out of her parents’ house and no longer
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working in the fields when she was eighteen. FA said to me “I went on and left my parents’

house when I started working at a Del Monte factory in Illinois, I got married and had my first

born, I was finally earning a paycheck weekly”. She expressed how receiving a paycheck and

having the ability to be financial stable on her own was an important stepping stone in her

journey of adulthood. A sense of pride for being able to support herself and her new small family

over whelmed her with happiness. There was no need to rely or depend on her parents anymore.

FA stated “From then on I never asked my parents for money again. I didn’t have too, I was

getting paid well”. Moving out of your parents’ home may be difficult to do, especially in my

culture but it gives us a sense of being independent. Not only that but it lets us see reality and

how the world really is. Ironically at eighteen I got married, and I had my daughter when I was

twenty years old. Having to care for another human other than myself 24/7 really strung a cord.

That really kicked me into adulthood. I had no idea what I was doing, but I refused to call my

family for help. I struggled trying to figure out how to become a parent. No one hands out a

manual when you have the kid. I just ran with it and figured it out as I went along.

So what sacrifices do we take once we go onto the long expedition into adulthood? It’s

different for everyone making the move. For some it is the sacrifice of shortening their childhood

to help contribute to the household income. Of course, this doesn’t happen anymore in the U.S

due to child labor laws. But unfortunately, this was the norm for many of our elder’s youth.

Although, what measures must be taken to gain adulthood? Let’s face it, becoming an adult does

not happen overnight. No powerful being will come and knight you into adulthood. It’s not easy,

and worst of all there is no manual for becoming an adult. There’s no rules or segments you must

follow, other than the law. Most just wing it and hope for the best. They take the knowledge

others give them and roll with the punches of life. There is no age that is set in stone in which
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you are officially an adult, despite what the law says. As children we are filled with ideas of what

adult life is, but most of us never expected dealing with certain situations. For example, having

bills to pay, the difficulty of entering an adult relationship, evolving into parents for the first

time. As I go into my mid-twenties I have come to realize that I am not done becoming an adult,

and that I have much more to learn. Being married and having a four-year-old do not

automatically make me an adult. It’s the responsibility that comes along with it all that gives me

a sense of what being an adult really is. Do I consider myself as an adult? Ultimately yes, but

more like an adult in training, a beginner adult. I have so much to learn and so much to teach my

young daughter. She watches everything I do, I can’t mess this up. Maybe in a few years I can

wake up and fully consider myself a full-blown adult, until then I’ll just be migrating into

adulthood and hopefully land in the correct place.

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