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St. Cloud State University
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Maturity a journey
By Debbie Peterson
Published:
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Debbie Peterson -- Staff Column
My own personal opinion of what maturity is and what mature people do has become more set now that I have lived in a college dorm. After seeing some of the most ridiculous actions and responses in existence, I can now readily describe an immature person. So, inversely, I now know which qualities classify a person as being mature.
A mature person is aware of the consequences of his or her actions and takes these consequences into consideration before acting. That person knows how to act appropriately in any given situation.
A college campus houses many different levels of maturity, especially according to this definition. Some students are completely aware of where they are going, what they want to be, and of how their actions may affect their chances of realizing these goals. Other students do not regulate their actions and are forced to deal with the consequences.
Recently, I had just gone to bed in my dorm room. After about fifteen minutes of relative silence (there's no such thing as complete silence in a dorm) I was startled awake by a burst of noise. This noise was coming from a group of explorers in the hallway. It was after 10 p.m., they were obviously drunk, they were making way too much noise and to their complete surprise their residential adviser decided to come exploring too.
The RA confronted the partyers and received a response of fake stupidity.
"No, I'm not drunk...Oh me? I wasn't being loud, just talking...In my cup? That's just water."
Rigghhht. It's an alcohol and noise violation.
At a certain point in life, people will suddenly discover that they have a goal or a reason to act maturely. This point varies among every person. Some realize it at an early age. Others don't reach it till well after college.
At this point, a person realizes that they want to make something of their life. They realize that in order to have the things that they want--a car, a home, a good job, a family--they have to work hard and create some sort of stability in their life. In order to create this stability the person must be responsible and be willing and able to take care of the car, the home, the job and the family.
This is where the need for maturity comes in. A mature person takes into consideration their actions and the consequences of their actions because they value the possessions and people in their lives. That person understands that if they do something foolish, irresponsible or inappropriate they may lose these things that they cherish.
Some of the people who read this will completely understand what I am talking about, and others will have to wait for the day that reality hits.
My view on maturity may grow and change with time and experience, but I will always acknowledge the importance of taking responsibility for my actions, good and bad alike.
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