This is 18: FOUR STUDENTS REFLECT ON THEIR 18TH YEAR OF LIFE

Senior year is a right of passage. It is not only the first year of high school, but the year most students turn 18, inching closer to becoming an adult. What does it mean to turn 18? 

ALEX VILAE:  

Q: What is turning 18 in your home country Romania like? A: “We have fancy parties for when you turn 18. It is like a wedding. You can invite 50 or more people, and we dance traditional and other fun dances.” 

Q: Are there any expectations that go along with turning 18?  A: “When you turn 18 in Romania, you can drive and drink and do everything an adult can do. I have more responsibilities than when I was 17. People expect more from you and to be more mature and think about decisions before you make them.” 

Q: What has been the most influential moment in life so far? A:“When I decided to go to the U.S. this year as an exchange student because at the beginning I didn’t think it would actually happen. It all just happened, and it was influential because my parents just pushed me to go after I was accepted to go and my life changed forever for me.” 

Q: What kind of slang do you use as an 18-year-old?A: “Mișto means cool in Romanian, and bâ means yo, which I use sometimes.”

JOEY DUNNING:

Q: As an 18-year-old, do you feel like an adult? A: “No, I feel like once I move out of my house and have more independence and get more control of my life I will feel like an adult.” 

Q: What do you think your generation will be known for? A: “I think a lot of us represent not following the norm and being individuals.”

Q: What has been the most influential moment in life so far? A:  “When I first got Photoshop on my computer in the sixth grade, and I taught myself how to do everything. I want to be involved in graphic design when I am older, so that influenced me a lot.”

Q: As an 18 year old, what is your go-to food?A: “Tootie frootie candies and La Croix.”

LILY MILLER: 

Q: As an 18-year-old, do you feel like an adult? 

A: “I have been thinking about this a lot lately. It’s really interesting because for your whole life you think, ‘Oh, when I am 18, I will be an adult and be able to do other crazy things,’ but it feels the same as I did when I was 17. I went to vote yesterday, and I walked out of city hall thinking, ‘Now what?’ It was kind of anticlimactic. You can get tattoos and piercings, but nothing will really make you feel fully like an adult.”

Q: What do you think your generation will be known for? A: “Right now, I kind of feel like we are known for messing things up even though we haven’t had the opportunity to. The older generations view us as lazy and entitled, but I think that once we are old enough to prove ourselves and show them we can do things, we are going to be able to undo the baby boomers’ mistakes. It is gonna take a lot of work, but things are falling apart, and we can’t let that happen.” 

Q: Most influential book so far in life?  A:“This is going to sound cheesy, but the book “You Are a Badass” (by Jen Sincero). It is a self-help book, and I am not big on those kinds of books, but my dad bought it for me for my birthday, and so I had to read it, but, it really spoke to me and helped me open my eyes to trusting myself more and giving more credit in hard situations and acknowledging the fact that people make mistakes.”  

Q: What kind of slang do you use as an 18-year-old?

A: “Without even knowing I am always dropping weird slang like ‘bro’ and ‘rad.’”

MEGAN SAWYER: 

Q: As an 18-year-old, do you feel like an adult? A: “In some ways, I do. Like filling out applications and registering to vote, but also, no, because I still live with my parents, and it is the exact same as I was 17. I just have some new things in my life. I think I will feel like an adult once I move out of my house and go to college. Once I start really planning my future years, I think I will feel like an adult.” 

Q: What do you think your generation will be known for? A: “I think the way we interact with other people and our different skills. Also, how we are more introverted than extroverted.” 

Q: As an 18 year old, what is your go-to food? A: “Apples, edamame and granola bars.” 

Q: What has been the most influential moment in life so far?A: “Moving to Cedar Falls in seventh grade from Marion, Iowa.”