Maturity

Maturity is one of those measurements that is super vague. Usually one would say "He is very mature for his age", or "He is so immature"...but who exactly decides what is mature and what is not? Sure, maybe standing on your desk and yelling in the middle of class can be counted as immature--but other than outlandishly obnoxious things, who makes the call?

I think that Maturity isn't so much the actions that you do in certain situations, but a certain mindset that one attains as they age. Sure, certain actions can generally point to the overall maturity level of an individual, but everone, mature or not, has their mature, or immature moments--they can be more mature in certain situations than in others.

One way in which people show their maturity is by the responsibilities that they have and actually attend to. Responsibilities over items, situations, and people. Those who are more mature usually have their priorities set straight and will tend to those matters which require immediate attention above those which can be put off a little bit longer. No, this isn't one of my many ways in which I try to advocate procrastination--in fact procrastination can be seen as a sign of immaturity. Instead of putting off until later those things that need to be done in place of recreational activities, those more pressing matters are taken care of by the mature.

Another sign of maturity is the value that one places on ones morals and the upholding of said morals. Of course, I know some very "mature people" who don't have the strongest set of morals, but the morals that they do have are held in place by their maturity and they don't give up ground to the things that they don't beleive in.

The biggest sign of maturity is, for lack of a better term, non-insecurities. Children are afraid that people will outcast them; mature people aren't afraid to be judged.

They aren't afraid that other people will make fun of the way their physical bodies look--they realize there is no reason to be self conscious.

They aren't afraid that other people make fun of the types of people that they surround themself with, associating with the socially outcast is ok for a mature person.

They aren't afraid that other people will make fun of the people that they choose to be partners with, even if they aren't Brad Pitt and Jessica Alba

They aren't afraid that other people will judge the morals that they choose, and even hold out against peer pressure.

They aren't afraid that other people will judge the the activities and pasttimes that they partake in that may be socially taboo.

Mature people aren't afraid to say what is on their mind, and don't judge other people for the choices that they make.

A mature person doesn't care what other people think because they realize that what Dr. Suess said is true,

"Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."