Moving into Adulthood

558 Words2 Pages

Adulthood is not defined by a number; a person does not wake up on their birthday and miraculously turn into an adult. Adulthood is obtained through experience in which someone gains responsibility, independence, and learns respectfulness. A few years ago my mother left her full time job and my father’s work started to slow down; I could not rely on our diminishing income. I knew I would have to get a job to help support myself. My parents never pushed me to find a job or refused to give me money, but I made the decision knowing it was right for my family. My first job transformed me into an adult because it taught me to be respectful and responsible and helped me gain independence.
My first job taught me to be respectful; I was expected to act a certain way, even when I was not having a good day. At work I had to be tactful and treat everyone respectfully˗ it was my job to ensure customers were happy. However, when I left work I still had the same mindset interacting with family, friends, or strangers. I learned that the mature, adult thing to do was show respect towards everyone, even when I was in a bad mood or they did not reciprocate the respectfulness. At work I often helped customers who were impatient or rude, and I had to stay calm and polite no matter how offended I felt. I could no longer go into a childish, temper tantrum and had to keep my poise. I carried this attitude through to my everyday interactions with people and enjoyed being courteous; a mindset that led me into adulthood. Respectfulness is a significant part of growing up because I know how to treat others, but learning responsibility helped people know they can rely on me.
Responsibility was essential in my first job; I had to be on time and was expected to be on task. At work there were major consequences for lack of responsibility, being late or skipping shifts could result in termination. After having to be responsible at work, promptness became a habit. I was always on time to school and appointments, or if I arranged plans I always arrived at the time I stated. It also became a habit to do what I was supposed to be doing; at work I gave full effort in doing the work assigned to me and at school I never failed to do the work expected of me.

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