Early adulthood and middle adulthood

As we know, every stage of life has its own characteristic features. Depending on
the moment of life, different needs, fears or hopes will affect us. In this essay, I will try to present
and compare two consecutive stages of life such as early adulthood and middle adulthood. I will
pay attention to their course as well as the challenges and pleasures that they have.
From a legal point of view, early adulthood begins with the age of 18 (in Poland). However,
from a psychological perspective, early adulthood begins when a person acquires some
independence in taking responsibility for himself and when he acquires the ability to be
interdependent, while building interpersonal relationships and setting new commitments. Although
young people often try to delay their entry into adulthood, they must finally rise to the challenge
and face situations that await them.
So, what challenges await people who are in this moment of life? They face many dilemmas
and decisions that require their involvement and maturity. Examples include: the desire to find
a career path and, consequently, an attempt to get a job or decisions about living alongside the other
person, and even trying to start a family and having children. These are situations that can cause
stress and confusion, which is why balance and a sense of support are also important.
But early adulthood also has positive aspects. People in this period of life are full
of strength, have the energy to act and can have all the time for it; they still can have a freedom
for spontaneous trips, intimate outings and privacy, even if they have to make some difficult
decisions in the near future. They may also have a sense of control over their lives, knowing that
everything is ahead of them, that they have the ability to make decisions, but also the time to
change them.
After early adulthood, a phase called middle adulthood begins. This is a period in which
people are usually stabilized and have their place in society. They follow their lifestyle, have
a stable job and family (unless they have taken less typical life paths). Most of the most important
decisions of their lives are already behind them. They also begin to focus on creating a better future
and raising a new generation (mainly for parents).
But despite the certain stability of this period, people are struggling with other types
of transitions and challenges. They begin to contemplate and analyze their past life and realize that
a large part of their lives have already passed. They are beginning to notice the first signs of aging,
both physical and mental, such as wrinkles or slowly diminish sensory capacities and abilities.
A well-known problem called the "midlife crisis" may appear here, which may be caused, among
others, by difficulties in accepting the changes that occur. It is important to try to maintain
a satisfactory standard of living and develop new adult leisure-time activities.
The main pleasure associated with this period is the raising of children. And although
it happens that parents suffer from the "empty nest", research shows that women living in this
"empty nest" report greater happiness and greater satisfaction with marriage, compared to those
women living with children at home. As I mentioned above, it is a quite stable period, in which
people should feel independent and safe.
I think it is clear that the periods of life described above differ significantly. The best
summary of early adulthood, in my opinion, is the words of Levison, who thinks that „early
adulthood is the era of greatest energy and abundance and of greatest contradiction and stress”. To
sum up middle adulthood, I would point to a different type of energy and freedom related to
stability - you do not have to worry about decisions that can affect your whole life. Due to the fact
that these are consecutive periods, early adulthood may affect middle adulthood, therefore it is
important to develop properly at every stage of life.