The Immaturity of Maturity

by Jens Coldewey

I remember a time when I was deeply interested in maturity. I was a teenager in the 8th grade and my classmates and I talked a lot about who in our class already was "mature." Our metrics were indicators such as having been on vacation without parents, having thrown a party without parents at home, and having dared to resist teachers, in addition to physical indications such as pitch of the voice. I think most Western teenagers share similar experiences.