It’s your 18birthday and you’re finally an official adult. You blow out the candles with excitement and think, “I’m finally free.”

While it is true someone is legally considered an adult when they turn 18, other aspects of what the age has to offer vary.

Senior Alex Green said you are an adult at 18 regardless of your maturity level, however if you still live with your parents and they provide care for you, you still must follow their rules.

“If you disobey then they have the legal right to kick you out,” Green said. “Honestly it means nothing to be 18. Congrats on now being able to smoke, vote, join the military, and have the ability to drop out of school without parental consent.”

Green said there should be no new privileges; technically an individual isn’t truly an adult until the age of 25 when the brain is fully developed.

“Based on privileges they do get, 18 year olds should be thankful for the freedoms they receive,” Green said.

Junior Jordan Wilson said if you aren’t okay with obeying your parent’s rules after you turn 18, you should move out.

“If you live with them it’s their house and you should respect that,” Wilson said.

Junior Shayla Cochran said turning 18 allows for just a few more privileges than someone had when they were 17.

“I believe society will still look at you as they would to someone in their mid-teens, but they legally have to recognize an 18 year old in certain aspects,” Cochran said. “I don’t think it officially makes you an adult, which takes years and experience. If you live under your parent’s roof you should obviously still abide by their rules; if that’s too much for you, then move out on your own.”

Senior Bridget Holloway said turning 18 seems like a big deal in the beginning.

“Once your birthday is over it really isn’t all that amazing anymore,” Holloway said. “Even though I am 18 I still have to follow my parents’ rules because it is their house and I am going to respect that. I don’t really think there are many special privileges to being 18 besides being able to buy tobacco and lottery tickets which really isn’t all that exciting if you don’t smoke or chew.”

Senior Haili Leiker said she originally thought she would feel like an adult when she turned 18.

“Other people who were older than me said things like, ‘Once you graduate you’re an adult’, or, ‘Once you’re registered to vote’, or, ‘Not until you’re 21, are you a true adult’,” Leiker said. “Honestly I don’t think we’re ever truly adults, but there will always people younger than us that think we know what we’re doing.”

15sberens@usd489.com