Something you need to understand about maturity. (Pls dont steal I spent hours writing this)

Ik it's long but this need to be said.

According to google, maturity is "the ability to respond to situations appropriately, demonstrating emotional regulation, sound judgment, and responsibility, rather than merely reflecting chronological age". So basically showing a great understanding of the world, having an exteriorized pov or acknowledging other's version of a story, taking responsibility for actions and acknowledging mistakes.

However, society tends to teach us that someone mature is someone who never gets mad, always calm, always serious and hard-working. They teach us that maturity is something you can see and visibly recognize, often making us believe that adults will always be the most mature. But why? I don't think that the concept of "maturity" was invented with a "mode-d'emploi" requiring a certain age or personality.

Maturity doesn't depend on age. In this world, a lot of teenagers have adults minds, while a lot of adults are still acting like children. Maturity will never depend on age, neither on personality. Yes, let's not deny it, maturity can sometimes be visibly recognizable, but it isn't the only form it takes. 

Maturity can also be someone introverted, reserved or afraid of expressing their opinions. This is often due to traumatic past experiences. The world kind of teached them that expressing their opinions often leads to problems, pushing them to neglect their own pov just to keep the peace.

Maturity can be someone childish and full of life. It can be someone always positive, caring. However, it is often proven that all this bubly personality hide a deep loneliness and lots of doubts, but they keep shining for others because they don't want anyone else to feel what they felt.

Maturity can also be someone that seems harsh and a bit too honest. Someone realistic that would tell you the truth no matter how hurtful it could be. It is often because they would rather accept the hurtful truth than get betrayed by beautiful illusions. They tell themselves that "it is the right thing to do", even if they often get hated for that, and according to several studies around the world, this kind of people tend to be the most honest and trustworthy.

So maturity isn't based on an exact form. Whether the person is 11 or 38 years old, or whether the person is introverted, bubly or harsh. They all can be mature. And I'm sorry, but no matter how old you are, or how good your understanding of the world is, as long as your didn't get that, you don't have the right to call yourself "mature".