Getting Older

Children and teenagers cannot wait to become adults. And on the other hand, grown- ups are often afraid of getting older or even ashamed of their age. One thing is for sure. Getting older has both advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on our point of view.

One advantage is that by getting older children and teenagers are being treated more like adults. They cannot wait to be 18 and become grown- ups. Some researches show that young people today are far less mature than the ones in the past. They live with their parents much longer and start their own families quite late, too. However, when children have finally become adults, they always wish they could be young again. That is what the human nature is like. It is never satisfied. Another good thing about getting older is that old people are more respected than the young ones. They are wiser, too and have much more life experience.

However, for every plus there is a minus. The same is in this case. With every year of your life you have more and more responsibilities, duties and restrictions. Once you are 18, you are completely independent and you are considered to be an adult. That isn’t always pleasant. As I said before, it is in our nature that we want to stay children as long as it is possible. Another thing is that older people have more health problems than the young ones. Once they retire, some of them become depressed, they feel they are useless and unwanted or even discarded as if no one loves them anymore. The fact is that many families put their senior members into an old people’s home, just to get rid of them.

To sum up, although teenagers consider getting older to be their way to freedom and independence, adults want to stay young forever. The reality is that no living soul has ever avoided this process. As William Shakespeare said: “The whole world is a stage and all men and women are actors. ” So, let’s play our roles with dignity!