This is in response to the debate under the "want to be a mission reviewer" thread. The debate is on whether or not people under 18 years of age should be allowed to staff OFPEC. I'm not posting this because I want the rule to be changed, but because I think it is an interesting debate, and I have a little to add to it.
I am currently 18 years old (going on 19 in a few months). Take it from me: there is a HUGE difference between an adult (18+) and a minor (under 18) in terms of maturity. I say this a someone who thought he was mature as little as a year ago, when I was 17. And for a 17 year old, I was fairly mature. But there is a big difference on the way I look at things, make descisions, etc. now that I'm older.
Now, the question is why? Part of it I'm sure has to do with your situation and experience. I went to Marine Corps boot camp after graduating high school in '02. That was a HUGE wake-up of sorts. Suddenly all those high school/teenage problems seemed so incredibly stupid. Life is very different in HS. You are sheltered from the real world. No rent to pay, no tuition to pay, no worrying about your friends being killed in Iraq. Popularity? Haven't even thought about that since HS. I used to think I was the smartest guy on the face of the earth. God, it was the worst when I was 16.
There is also a very real biological reason for all of this. A person
cannot actually think like an adult until they are 18. Check it out for yourself
here. Be sure to read all three pages.
I whole-heartedly agree with the 18+ year-old rule the staff at OFPEC have set. I'm even one of those "crazy" people who think that the driving age (in America) should be 18. 90% of the teenagers I see drive like crazed monkeys. My friends used to drive like that, but now they drive like sane individuals.
Well, there's my two cents for ya. Take it for what it's worth.