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Self-discovery Influences Maturation

Maturation is a process that has no exact destination. We become more mature as we grow up, however, we can be mature on one thing but immature on the other. We are at different levels when we become mature at the age of 25. Self-discover is an important element that causes the different level of maturation. In Michael Chabon, who is an American novelist and holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine, wrote in his article My Son, the Prince of Fashion that how he wants his son to self-discover and grow even though he felt sad about it because he found the gap between them, and he is also scared to let him go. Robin Marants Henig, who is a journalist and author whose work is focusing on science, mentioned in her article What is it about 20-Somethings? about 5 milestones people established that represent adulthood. And that people nowadays are finishing those milestones later and later due to the result of self-discovery. The value of self- discovery during the process of maturation is that we will find the strengths and weaknesses of ourselves. At this period of time, we are more flexible, it is faster for us to improve our strengths or accept the failure then learn from it. Also, it’s easier to alter the characteristics that we discovered during this process to make us a better person.

Self- discovery during the period of maturation can help us find what we are good at and not, and make some changes due to what we found. When we are not mature, we have people around us, such as our parents, that can help us determine the right thing to do. And when we find our interests or strengths, we can improve it faster and easier when we are not mature yet. Because it is easier to absorb the stress that comes from what we are choosing to be in. Also, when we meet barriers, in our mental state, we can accept the flaws quicker than when we are already mature. According to Chabon, “It was always Abe's rare gift not just to stand out, and bear up, but to do those things with panache. And the way in which he expressed his difference most reliably, and with the greatest panache, was through dressing up” (Chabon 65). Abe has heard and faced bad things when he was developing his strengths and discovering the world of fashion, he overcome the difficulty and insist, and also found a good way to make him a happier boy. The younger you are, the easier you can find the right way to react when you face negative messages. When we are still in the process of maturation, we do not think as deeply as we do after the process. Which means that we can digest the stress faster and improve from there. In Henig’s article, she said “Or is adulthood now so malleable, with marriage and employment options constantly being reassessed, that young people would be better off just getting started on something, or else they’ll never catch up” (Henig 204). We have more time to discover what we want when we are still young, and choose what we like and are willing to do before it is too late to be done. Finding things we like or dislike is a way of self-discovery. In this progress, we might find something that we used to love but not anymore, or we love it but not good at it. In the process of maturation, we can choose to develop, or give up on it easier because we have a better ability to accept the change. This is the value of self-discovery during the process of maturation.

We can discover our own characteristics during the process of self-discovery, and we are more easily to alter them when we are not mature yet, so that we can become a better and happier self. “It’s easy to see the advantages to the delay. There is time enough for adulthood and its attendant obligations; maybe if kids take longer to choose their mates and their careers, they’ll make fewer mistakes and live happier lives. But it’s just as easy to see the drawbacks” (Henig 214). When we are exploring on our own, we sometimes find some new things that we might not know before. Sometimes it’s a good thing, and sometimes it can be bad. That is the value of self-discovery. And we need to alter our thoughts or beliefs to make us happier. When we are still maturing, our mind is not settled down, we are more likely to change the idea of what we used to believe in, so that we do not make bigger mistakes in the future. “Abe had not been dressing up, styling himself, for all these years because he was trying to prove how different he was from everyone else. He did it in the hope of attracting the attention of somebody else—somewhere, someday—who was the same” (Chabon 70). When we figure out our own characteristics, and we have more time to explore and try to fit in the group that we want to be in at a young age. In the progress of maturation, we are learning all the time about things that are happening around us, because we are still young and not mature, we are more willing to and easily to alter what we discovered about ourselves that we do not like to become the person we want to be.

The value of self- discovery during the process of maturation is that we will find the strengths and weaknesses of ourselves. At this period of time, we are more flexible, it is faster for us to improve our strengths or accept the failure then learn from it. Also, it’s easier to alter the characteristics that we discovered during this process to make us a better person.