JOURNEY
INTO THE REAL WORLD
“It’s not like I received a letter
or membership card,” said 20-year-old Jon.
“Everyone seems to talk about it, but I don’t really know what it is.”
Like Jon, have you ever
wondered, “What exactly is the real world? and How do I
know when I’ve entered it?”
Does the real world start when
you’re legally able to drive? In my home state of
From my experience, you
enter the real world at the time in your life when you take the majority of
responsibility for your life’s direction. For some, this is as early as age 10.
For others, it may not happen until they reach their 30s. Many would argue that
they know people who’ve never entered the real world.
The difference between the
real world and what exists before the real world is shelter. Parents and the
academic world are the two most common shelters that
exist. Parents can protect and guard their children for decades from having to
face the big questions of life. I personally know people in their late 20s who haven’t
yet looked at questions such as “What should I do for a living?” and “Who am
I?” because they’ve been so sheltered. Do you know anyone like this?
Likewise, the academic world
has a way of creating a mythical existence that only exists inside its walls.
Bank loans and family savings are used to maintain a safe and structured
life. In school you know what you have
to do to get an “A”, when your assignments are due, and what classes you need
to take next semester. The real world is far less clear. No longer does your
life have a clear grading system that tells you how you are performing. Instead, it is up to you to navigate your own
way.
The good news is that the
moment you and I take responsibility for our journey into the real world a new
phase of our lives unfolds. One in which we no longer rely upon the old protection
and predictability. Instead as Henry Ford, the father of the modern automobile
industry, said, “Life becomes a series of
experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is
hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must
learn that the setbacks and griefs which we endure
help us in our marching onward.”
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2005
Jason C. Steinle is the author of Upload Experience:
Quarterlife Solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings,
and host of The Steinle
Show talk radio and television programs.