Maturity, and lack thereof.

I have noticed something about people. I don't spend an awful lot of time with people much younger than me. Three years is about the limit. So on the rare occasion that I do get to converse with people more than three years my junior, I notice incredable differences in maturity.

Seriously, the maturity difference between a 22 year old and an 18 year old is unbelievably wide. But I couldn't work out what it was, exactly. I remember being 18, and definitely feeling mature for my age.
But I think I was missing the point about that.

I felt mature for my age, but I wasn't sure what mature was. I've noticed that 18 year olds have a sense of themselves, they are pretty much aware of who they are, and the qualities that they possess. Much more so than you do at, say, 15.

But in making that connection, I think 18 year olds have a tendancy to assume that they are the only people in the world who feels the way they do. We have it drilled into us that "we're all different", and yes we are, but fundamentally a lot of what makes us up is exactly the same.
It's why it was the less mature of my friends who constantly joined groups on Facebook with things like "Sometimes I say that I'm okay, but inside I'm crying". That's an extreme example and I couldn't think of a better one.

The surprise of a shared identity is what drew those people to those kind of groups. I bet you most people have experienced that kind of thing before, maybe not in such a melodramatic way, but I bet everyone has been upset/annoyed by something and not let on.

I think that it's that kind of understanding you get as you grow older from 18. At 18 you realise how different you are from everyone else, at 21 you realise how alike you are to everyone else. I'm looking forward to what I'll find out when I'm 25. Probably that blogs are stupid.
I'll let you know.