Age 18: Adult?

This week in class we discussed milestones in our lives. In third grade we had to do a "milestone" project. Back then the most important milestones in my life consisted of being born, taking my first steps, saying my first words, my first day of school, and learning how to ride a bike. Now as we looked at the time-line of life in a much broader view I realize there are so many more milestones that would be important to me now. I have already passed several like getting my license and starting high school, but there are still huge ones to look forward to in my future like going to college, getting married, and having kids. Milestones are something to look back on, to live in the moment of, and to dream of in years to come. One milestone that people find important is the age of 18, the start of one's adulthood. At this age we are able to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes, porn, have no curfew, join the military, and are legally considered an "adult". But in reality these are just benefits of the age that the government has set for us, it doesn't automatically mean we are considered an adult the moment the clock strikes 12:01 on our 18th birthday. My sister started living in her own apartment out in California at age 18, she has a part time job, goes to school, has a dog, all of the things that adults might have too. Yet, my parents still support her financially and pay for her apartment, without them she'd be lucky to be able to share an apartment with 4 other kids. She might think of herself as an adult because she's living independent and not even remotely in the same state as our parents, but really she's not an adult. Now at age 20 she still has the same job, goes to school, and takes care of her dog, but she still has no steady job and is just a year away from graduating college. An adult would know what to do after their senior year, but she will just have to see what the future holds for her much like young adults all over the nation.