Emerging Adulthood: Understanding the New Way of Coming of Age Jeffrey Jensen Arnett Not long ago an article appeared on the Internet entitled "Top 10 Things to Do Before You Turn 30" (Brodrick, 2003). The list included the following: • See the world. It's much easier to do when you're 22 and footloose than 35 with two bawling babies in your backpack. • If you're going to drink a lot, do it when you're young. Get this experi- mentation out of your system. • Take risks with your job. Aim for the career you've dreamed of doing. Or just have fun for now. Later, when you've got the mortgage and 2.3 kids and a time share in Cocoa Beach, fun will be the last thing on your mind. • Do volunteer work. You may be broke, but you can give your sweat and earnestness to a cause in which you believe. • Use this decade to go to extremes. Climb the tallest mountain you can find. Learn to sail. Road trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. [By age 30] people will really be expecting you to act like a grown up. So, you will need some experiences to teach you how to get there. The article concluded, Sounds like your 20s are pretty fun. But don't think this means the rest of your life will be a drag. My point is to take advantage of what you have: energy, idealism, enthusiasm, a willingness to experiment, a lack of encum- brances, a desire to learn and grow. (Broderick, 2003, 1 21) Forty years ago, by age 22 or 23 the typical person in industrialized societies was married, had at least one child, and was well on the way to a mortgage (and perhaps even a time share in Cocoa Beach). It is clear that a great deal has changed in recent decades in what people expect their lives to be like during their 20s. Of course, it has long been true that some young people have been unencumbered and footloose during their 20s (White, 1993). In Europe during the 19th century, at the height of Romanticism, there was an ideal,