After with
adolescence, adulthood is the thing that all
young people look forward to. Often associated with enormous amounts of
freedom, most of us who have reached it spend our time pining for the loss of
innocence and the burden of
responsibilities that it brings. Everyone gets there eventually (except those whose lives are taken in their youth), so there's no fighting it.
Adulthood may be either or both physical or mental. Physical adulthood is often considered to be achieved at the age of 18, or 21 in some cultures. Mental adulthood in some form can come as early as 10 or 12 if a child is pushed into it due to circumstances.