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18-22ish is a formative time for many people. If you were fully formed at age 18 with just exposure to the family any friends you grew up with that’s great, but

18-22ish is a formative time for many people. If you were fully formed at age 18 with just exposure to the family any friends you grew up with that’s great, but the new perspective and easing into freedom of college is valuable for many people.

sershe 5y ago
Why is that, though? I think it points back to problems with earlier schooling. People used to be pretty independent at 18 in the past, as far as I know, with formative years being much earlier.
LudwigNagasena 5y ago
Is it valuable or just different? What’s so magical about the numbers 18-22?
- showerst 5y ago
  It's not the years (roughly speaking) -- move college to 16, or 20, the point still stands. For many people it's the first time they leave the only family/friend/schooling setting they've ever lived with. Some people certainly don't need that, but I think a soft-entry into the real world in a more limited environment is not to be dismissed outright. It was certainly helpful for me. No matter how good your family and secondary schooling is (and for many people, it is lousy!), I think that having only one environment and set of perspectives before you're assumed to be a solo capable adult is not ideal.
  - LudwigNagasena 5y ago
    What does this have to do with college? You can just move out.
- KittenInABox 5y ago
  I can't speak for everyone but I want to say it was valuable for me to be separated from my family at that age and put in another semi-structured environment like college. My family was incredibly supportive, well-roundeded, upper-middle-class, and therefore I lived in a neighbourhood surrounded mostly by other families from my background. Being able to be separated from that environment and exposed to a diverse background of wealth/privilege was incredibly helpful to my capacity for empathy and willingness to be wrong. (I went to a state college in a primarily working class city.)
  - LudwigNagasena 5y ago
    What does this have to do with college? You can just move out.
    - KittenInABox 5y ago
      College provided me with a semi-structured environment that gave me set obligations (classes, activities) without the pressure of finding and managing employment (while also being exposed to others who did have this pressure, which again, did so much for acknowledging my privileges in background). Colleges also often provide a space for people to access mental healthcare for the first time independently without the overwhelm of psychologytoday.com or other directory. Please note that there are several significant and life-altering mental illnesses that also typically kick in around this time, and early intervention does wonders.

sershe 5y ago

Why is that, though? I think it points back to problems with earlier schooling. People used to be pretty independent at 18 in the past, as far as I know, with formative years being much earlier.

LudwigNagasena 5y ago

Is it valuable or just different? What’s so magical about the numbers 18-22?

showerst 5y ago
It's not the years (roughly speaking) -- move college to 16, or 20, the point still stands. For many people it's the first time they leave the only family/friend/schooling setting they've ever lived with. Some people certainly don't need that, but I think a soft-entry into the real world in a more limited environment is not to be dismissed outright. It was certainly helpful for me. No matter how good your family and secondary schooling is (and for many people, it is lousy!), I think that having only one environment and set of perspectives before you're assumed to be a solo capable adult is not ideal.
- LudwigNagasena 5y ago
  What does this have to do with college? You can just move out.
KittenInABox 5y ago
I can't speak for everyone but I want to say it was valuable for me to be separated from my family at that age and put in another semi-structured environment like college. My family was incredibly supportive, well-roundeded, upper-middle-class, and therefore I lived in a neighbourhood surrounded mostly by other families from my background. Being able to be separated from that environment and exposed to a diverse background of wealth/privilege was incredibly helpful to my capacity for empathy and willingness to be wrong. (I went to a state college in a primarily working class city.)
- LudwigNagasena 5y ago
  What does this have to do with college? You can just move out.
  - KittenInABox 5y ago
    College provided me with a semi-structured environment that gave me set obligations (classes, activities) without the pressure of finding and managing employment (while also being exposed to others who did have this pressure, which again, did so much for acknowledging my privileges in background). Colleges also often provide a space for people to access mental healthcare for the first time independently without the overwhelm of psychologytoday.com or other directory. Please note that there are several significant and life-altering mental illnesses that also typically kick in around this time, and early intervention does wonders.