part of growing up is changing essay

Part of growing up is changing. Write about a time in the past 2-3 years when you realized that you had changed. How?

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• Sentence 2 - Example
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Some university students want to learn about other subjects in addition to their main subjects. Others believe it is more important to give all their time and attention to studying for a qualification. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

Some countries achieve international sports by building specialised facilities to train top athletes, instead of providing sports facilities that everyone can use. do you think this is positive or negative development, television is dangerous because it destroys family life and any sense of community; instead of visiting people or talking with our family we just watch television. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion, a person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions. old-fashioned values, such as no longer seem important. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion, internet technology means people do not need to travel to foreign countries to understand how others live. to what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement.

Essays About Growing Up: 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Essays about growing up help us view and understand various experiences from different perspectives. Check out our top examples and prompts for your writing.

How do you know when you’ve finally grown up? Me, it happened when I was in high school. I realized I matured when I had no qualms about looking for ways to help my family financially. I didn’t think I had a choice, but at the same time, I desperately wanted to aid my parents in ensuring we had food on the table. 

I was a fast food crew member, a librarian, and many other odd jobs I could talk about for hours. Some judge my parents’ poor financial literacy when I tell my stories, but I never did. All of it was a part of my growing up; without these experiences, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. 

Growing up is a unique experience for every person, influenced by our surroundings and influences. With so many variables, each person has their own story about growing up; take a look below to see the best example and prompts to begin writing your own. You might also like these essays about youth .

5 Essay Examples

1. social influences on children’s growing up by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 2. growing up in the 626 by katie gee salisbury, 3. growing up in poverty determines the person’s fate by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 4. growing up on the streets by writer bernadette, 5. growing up with hearing loss by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 1. what does growing up mean, 2. the effect of my environment on my growth, 3. growing up rich or poor, 4. family values and growing up, 5. growing up with siblings, 6. your best memories growing up, 7. changes while growing up.

“Human growth and development is a complicated process which is inevitably impacted upon by socioeconomic circumstances within which an individual is growing up.”

To demonstrate the social influences that can impact a child’s experiences growing up, the essay offers several credible citations from professionals, such as Damon and Lerner, the writer and editor of “ Handbook of Child Psychology .” It looks at how social factors, such as living conditions, access to resources, and others, can affect a child’s overall development as they grow. Ultimately, the writer believes that parents play a huge role in the development of their children. You can also check out these essays about development .

“Something welled up inside my throat. All of a sudden I felt a burning urgency to stake a claim, to assert that I was one of them, that I too belonged in this group. ‘Hey guys, I’m Chinese too,’ I ventured. A classmate who carpooled with my family was quick to counter, ‘Katie, that doesn’t count.'”

Salisbury shares her experiences as an overachieving Asian-American, focusing on her grievances at being biracial, not connecting to her heritage, and people’s assumption of her being white. She talks about her life in 626, the area code for Arcadia, Southern California, where most Asians reside. At the end of her essay, Salisbury offers facts about herself to the reader, recognizing and accepting every part of herself.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about time .

“Economic mobility is the ability of someone or a family to move up from one income group to another. In the United States, it is at an all-time low and is currently decreasing.”

The author shares their opinion on how a family’s financial situation shapes their children’s future. To back up their claim, the essay provides relevant statistics showing the number of children and families in poverty, alongside its dramatic effects on a child’s overall development. The writer mentions that a family’s economic incompetence can pass on to the children, reducing their chances of receiving a proper education.

“As a young black woman growing up on the hardcore streets of North Philadelphia, you have to strive and fight for everything. The negativity and madness can grab and swallow even the most well-behaved kids.”

Bernadette opens her readers’ eyes to the harsh realities of being a young black woman throughout her essay. However, she also expresses her gratitude to her family, who encouraged her to have a positive mindset. Her parents, who also grew up on the streets of North Philly, were determined to give her and her siblings a proper education. 

She knows how individuals’ environments impact their values ​​and choices, so she fought hard to endure her circumstances. She also notes that the lack of exposure to different social norms results in children having limited thinking and prevents them from entertaining new perspectives. You might be interested in these essays about dream jobs .

“The world is not accommodating to people with hearing disabilities: apart from professionals, barely anyone knows and understands sign language. On top of that, many are merely unaware of the fact that they might be hurting and making a deaf person feel disrespected.”

The essay discusses critical issues in children growing up with hearing impairments. It includes situations that show the difference between a child growing up in an all-deaf family and a non-deaf environment. While parental love and support are essential, deaf parents should consider hearing impairment a gift and be aware of their children’s needs. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

7 Prompts for Essays About Growing Up

Growing up is a continuous sequence where we develop and experience significant changes in our bodies and how we think and feel. It’s the transition between being a child and an adult, so define what childhood and adulthood entail in your essay.

Then, describe how an individual grows up and the indications that they progressed physically and intellectually. For a fun addition to your essay, include questions your readers can answer to see if they have matured.

Many studies show how people’s environments, such as home, community, and school, affect growth. These environments significantly impact an individual’s development through interactions. For this prompt, write about the factors that influence your overall development and explain how you think they affected you. For example, those who studied at a religious school tend to be more conservative.

Money is essential for survival, but only some have easy access. Most people act and make decisions based on how much money they have, which also influences their behavior. In this prompt, cite several situations where money affects parents’ decisions about their children’s needs and wants and how it affects the children as they grow up.

Discuss how financial constraints impact their emotions, perceptions, and choices in life. Choose high, average, and low-income households, then compare and contrast their situations. To create an in-depth analysis, use interview research and statistical data to back up your arguments.

Studies show that children understand rules and have already formed their behaviors and attitudes at seven. Before this age, children are surrounded by relatives who teach them values through experiences within the family. For this prompt, use real-life examples and factual information to discuss the importance of good parenting in instilling good values ​​in children.

Growing up with siblings is an entirely different experience growing up versus being an only child. Use this prompt to explain how having a brother or sister can impact a child’s progress and discuss its pros and cons. For instance, having siblings means the child has more role models and can get more emotional support. However, it can also mean that a child craves more of their parent’s attention. Discuss these points in your essay, and decide the “better” experience, for a fun argumentative essay.

In this essay, choose the best memories you had from childhood to the current day that has contributed significantly to your principles and outlook. Describe each memory and share how it changed you, for better or worse.

Talk about the changes people expect as they grow up. These physical, emotional, or mental changes lead people to act and think more maturely.  Add studies demonstrating the necessity of these changes and recount instances when you realize that you’ve grown up. For example, if before you didn’t care about your spending, now you’re more frugal and learned to save money. For help with your essay, check our round-up of best essay writing apps .

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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Childhood and Growing up Essay: Titles & Examples

What are the challenges of growing up? This question is thought-provoking and exciting to answer. Each person has their unique experience, and for many the process of growing up is not easy. Some live in poverty, others have complex family relationships. A childhood and growing up essay allows you to discover your new sides and see how well you know yourself.

This article is a writing guide for an essay about growing up. It contains creative essay titles on the topic, together with writing prompts and short essay examples. Get inspired to write your growing up essay with us!

• 📝 Growing up Writing Prompts
• 📚 Growing up Essay Topics
• 📜 Essay Sample #1
• 📜 Essay Sample #2

📝 What Are the Challenges of Growing Up? Essay Prompts

Every child is unique, so that everyone can tell a different childhood story.

What is typical for everyone – the process of growing up is a challenge. Although there’re lots of challenges, it’s also an exciting experience.

Growing up essays usually describe hobbies, relationships with siblings, difficulties with parents, etc. Check our essay ideas below.

What Does It Mean to Grow up?

This is not only about aging or changing your looks. Growing up is a physical and a deep psychological process at the same time. Your picture of the world changes, people come and go, and you change too.

Creating a mind map of your childhood can help you understand what exactly growing up was to you.

A reflective childhood & growing up essay can involve such matters:

• Taking on new responsibilities.
• Learning from mistakes.
• Changes in attitude towards people.
• Childhood dreams and ambitions.
• Childhood beliefs and values.
• Independence, confidence, and self-acceptance.
• Life lessons that shaped one’s personality.
• People who affected the growing up process.

Growing up in a Small Town Essay

Describe the details of being a child in a small town. You can also describe the pluses and minuses of living in a small town. It can be a general overview, but better try to connect it to your life and experience.

In this kind of a growing up essay, you might write about:

• Knowing everyone around.
• Local school.
• The first summer job.
• The places that have always been special.

A comparative essay is a good choice in this case. Discuss why life in small towns is different from life in big cities.

Growing up without a Father Essay

How many children in the United States grow up in single-parent families?

Growing up with a single parent is certainly not the only thing that shapes a kid’s personality. However, it is one of the essential factors, for sure.

• Check the statistics to see how many children grow up with one parent.
• Tell about the mother’s efforts to raise children alone while working.
• Include stories about relatives that were of immense help: siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
• Describe a person who substitutes father and his role.

Growing up without a Mother Essay

This topic might seem similar to the previous one, but there are several differences.

• Write about the general psychological effects of growing up without a mother.
• Compare the scientific facts with personal experience and conclude.
• Describe how it affects adult life and childhood.
• Write about the typical leisure time with father.

While describing a relationship with a father, describe daily responsibilities and how they influence a child’s life. What challenges do children growing up with a single parent experience?

Growing up Asian in America Essay

Even though the US is multicultural, there are still issues that people of color face. Including children.

Explain how the childhood of an Asian is different from the experience of white Americans. Describe it if you were a part of an Asian community such as a neighborhood or school you attended. Write about your national traditions that you maintained or abandoned.

In your essay on growing up, describe the challenges you overcame. These might include:

• The time you faced racism.
• The stereotypes and misconceptions you faced.
• The choice between your identity and the one imposed by society.
• How has the social position of Asians in the United States changed?

Growing up in Poverty Essay

How many young Americans live in families with incomes below the poverty threshold? There are several risks which growing up in poverty possesses.

You can discuss them in your growing-up-poor essay:

• Malnutrition. Starting from low birth weight, ending with health problems.
• Psychological damage. Being in need as a child might cause emotional and behavioral issues.
• Academic failures. Some poor children have to work and attend school at the same time. This interferes with the proper learning process.

Use growing up in poverty topic for a problem-solution essay. Here you can discuss how to deal with poverty and provide equal opportunities for all children.

Growing up in Two Cultures Essay

Adapting to a new culture is a complicated process. It is a massive challenge for children as they can’t identify themselves.

Here is what you can discuss in your essay on growing up:

• Traditions of your family. They might include cuisine, holidays, religious practices.
• Transcultural adaptation. Describe the change of behavioral patterns, language, or looks.
• Your relationships with peers. Tell about the situations you remember: bad experiences such as bullying or good ones such as interest in your culture.

Write a narrative essay about your vision of what it’s like to be a person who belongs to two cultures.

📚 Essay Titles about Growing Up

And here is your selection of essay topics that you can also use as ideas for a speech or discussion.

You can pick your essay title from this list:

• What country is the best for children to grow up in?
• Should kids and teenagers work during the summer holidays?
• Explain how growing up among American children influences children of migrants.
• What is the most important lesson you learned from your parents?
• Were you more like your father or mother as a child?
• What do you think you needed the most as a child?
• What are the common problems between parents and adolescents?
• Have you ever been a victim or took part in school bullying?
• What are the consequences of growing up too fast?
• Describe a life-changing experience from your childhood.
• How to motivate children to study based on their early childhood performance?
• Does having a pet teach children responsibility?
• Did you have any secrets that you kept from your parents?
• What is it like growing up in a small town with big ambitions?
• What tips could you give your parents if you went back in time?
• What advice would you give yourself if you went back in time?
• How did your race and ethnicity affect your childhood?
• Describe your childhood hobby and the achievements in it.
• How do childhood problems might affect adult life?
• Is it more challenging to grow up as a girl or a boy?
• Who was your role model as you were a child?
• What challenges did you face while growing up, which you think others didn’t?
• What was the biggest mistake you made in your childhood?
• What are the psychological effects of family issues on children?
• How well do you remember your childhood?
• What are the main reasons for suicide among teenagers?
• Describe your best childhood friend and your relationship.
• How does growing up in a low-income family affect one’s attitude to money?
• Why do children lie to their parents?
• What is your brightest childhood memory?
• Why do teenagers tend to be rebellious and sometimes violent?
• What would you change in your childhood if you had a chance?
• Describe the moment when you felt you had grown up.
• How has your music taste changed since you were a kid?
• How to instill tolerance in children from an early age?
• Growing up without a father made me a stronger person.
• What was your dream profession when you were a child?
• What is the most unforgettable present you received as a kid?
• Were you popular in middle and high school?
• What is your earliest childhood memory, and why do you think it’s this one ?
• What is the best advice you have received as a child?
• How successful were you academically as a child?
• How to avoid and prevent bullying at school?
• What experience in your family affected you the most and why?
• Did your parents support your dreams and ambitions?
• How can you describe your relationships with your siblings?
• What were the common traits of teenagers of your generation ?
• What is the most valuable object that reminds you of childhood?
• Describe your first love and what you felt about it?
• How did your family affect your current values?
• Videogame Addiction and Its Impact on Children.
• Can a single parent provide enough attention and care to their children?
• Who was the closest to you in your family?
• What are the things your parents have done you are grateful for?
• What opportunities do you wish you could have as a kid?
• What were your phobias in childhood or as a teenager ?
• What were your strong and weak sides when you were a child?
• What do you want your future family to be like?
• How to detect and prevent child abuse at early stages?
• Why do teenagers try smoking , drugs, or alcohol?

📜 Growing Up Essay Example #1

To make it easier for you, our experts prepared a couple of childhood and growing up essays. Check them below!

Everyone defines growing up in their way. It is more than just physical changes that you notice in the mirror. As for me, growing up means accepting responsibilities, being able to take care of somebody, and becoming independent. I remember the first time my parents asked me to babysit my little sister. Rachel was a silent kid, but I was nervous anyway. I wanted my parents to come home as early as possible because I was afraid of the responsibility. I felt as if they entrusted her life and safety to me, just a teenager. Some weeks later, I discovered that it was not terrifying me anymore. We had fun together; I taught her how to play games and enjoyed our time together. Rachel was also the first person I learned to take care of. I helped my sister with her homework, picked her from school, and gave her advice when she asked for it. The feeling that I do it without waiting for something in return taught me a lot. I changed my attitude towards people, learned how to be kind and generous. Now I am sure that I will be able to nurture my kids in the future. Moving to a college dormitory made me independent. I thought I was an adult fully responsible for myself at high school, but I was wrong. Living alone and being in charge of my life motivated me to change a lot. I learned how to spend time alone, value it and take care of my health. I also started managing my time rationally. Independence doesn’t mean you don’t need other people in your life. It means you can rely on yourself in any case. I can’t say that I am a one hundred percent adult at this stage of my life. I am sure that I grew up helping my parents, my sister, and myself. I changed a lot. But many challenges are waiting for me in the future. Taking up more responsibilities and facing difficulties will help me on my way.

📜 Growing Up Essay Example #2

Growing up asian in america.

Asian-American children are a vulnerable group that needs protection. My experience is an excellent example of the difficulties that Asian-Americans might face in their childhood. As an Asian, I faced bullying at school, low expectations regarding my future career, and troubles with self-identification. High school was a hard time for me. 21.7% of Asians report being bullied at school . The rate is the highest among all the ethnic groups. I didn’t report my own experience as I didn’t want to seem weak. I was bullied because I studied harder than many other students and cared about my grades too much. I am sure that I would have been bullied less if I were a white child. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious regardless of your ethnicity. My family and friends didn’t support my aspiration to become a doctor. They said that no one from my family went to college and that it was too hard to be admitted. It was challenging to keep my motivation without support. Even when they knew I had all the chances to receive financial aid, they just didn’t believe it. It was always hard for me to identify myself. I don’t know if I am like children from China as I have never been there. I was born and raised in the United States. But my motherland does not feel like home too. I don’t look like many of my peers, and my family has a different lifestyle and traditions. I don’t think that I belong to any of the communities. In conclusion, my experience shows how a childhood of an Asian-American kid might look like. I feel that further generations will confront similar challenges facing society and themselves. That is why I want to raise attention to the mentioned problems and change people’s attitudes.

We hope that our article clarified what a growing up essay should look like.

We will be glad to learn about your experience of writing such an essay! Share your thoughts below in the comment section.

This is it for today. Good luck and happy writing!

Growing Up Essay: Guide & Examples [2024]

What does it mean to grow up? Essays on this topic might be entertaining yet challenging to write. Growing up is usually associated with something new and exciting. It’s a period of everything new and unknown.

Our specialists will write a custom essay specially for you!

Now, you’ve been assigned to write a growing up essay. You’re not a kid anymore, but not quite the adult. It would be interesting for your teacher to learn about your childhood memories or read what you think about the experience of growing up.

That’s why:

In this article, we will provide a guide on how to write an essay on growing up. Our team listed some topics to make your writing process more manageable.

• 📍 How to Write It

🏡 About Your Childhood

🧒 about someone else.

• 👧 Growing Up

🔗 References

📍 how to write a growing up essay.

Writing an essay about growing up can seem complicated, but it’s always easier to handle when you have a plan. In this section, we will talk more about how to write an essay on the topic.

• Reflective essays focus on the author’s attitude towards individual experiences. This type is often required during the college admissions process. For instance, one may write about growing up in poverty and how it shaped his character.
• Narrative essays focus on a specific event or sequence of events. For example, you might write about the most memorable trip from your childhood.
• Choose the topic on the familiar subject. It will be easier to reflect on the issue when you have a lot of relevant experience.
• Choose the topic of interest. Write about something that provokes a strong emotional reaction from you.
• Show a unique vision on the topic. Try to approach writing college essays about growing up from a different perspective. When writing a narrative essay, you need to remember that your work should tell a story. Your essay topic about growing up needs to agree with the paper’s length and follow the essay structure. Focus on a specific point in your writing.
• Think about the event in your life that provokes a strong emotional response;
• Write what you have learned from the experience;
• Consider writing about experiences with your friends or relatives. What those events taught you?
• Introduction : Your growing up essay introduction is an opening paragraph of the work. It grabs a reader’s attention and contains a thesis statement.
• Body Paragraphs : The childhood and growing up essay can contain three body paragraphs. In each one, provide an example of an event or situation that supports the general topic.
• Conclusion : In your growing up essay, the conclusion is the final paragraph. It summarizes the main points and brings the paper to an end.
• Revise your draft a couple of days after writing it. That way, you will be able to notice mistakes or typos you missed.
• Try to avoid passive voice . Rewrite the sentences in an active one, if possible.
• Read your essay out loud. If it doesn’t meet the set criteria, keep revising it.

👩‍👦‍👦 Growing Up Essay Topics

You may not know what your essay on growing up should be devoted to. If it’s the case, look at this section. Earlier, we talked about how to write, but here we will tell you what to write about.

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See the topics that can navigate an essay about your childhood experience:

• Your family values and how they have been shaping your personality. Engage in reflective writing to show how certain factors of growing up influenced your character. What do you think were the effects of your growing-up period? 
• What various roles have you had in your family? How and why did they change? As children grow, the family adjusts accordingly. Remember your roles as a child, adolescent, and young adult . How did they change?
• Your personal changes over the course of growing up. Write an essay describing your personal development . What caused those changes? 
• Sudden adulthood. Write a “growing up too fast” essay. Reflect on your feelings and emotions about growing up so suddenly. 
• Growing up with siblings . Write an essay about your childhood experience in a house where you weren’t the only child. Remember what it was like growing up with blood brothers and sisters? Or, maybe you have step-siblings? How did it influence you?
• A short memoir . You don’t need to have a dramatic adolescence or an out-of-ordinary story to write about yourself. Share your most exciting stories from childhood.
• A significant event from my childhood.
• Personal experience of parenting styles .
• Describe the events that helped you to learn about life .
• Tell about the time you tried to challenge gender norms.  
• Analyze your experience of growing up in another culture and the influence it had on your adult life.
• Most memorable Christmas of my childhood.
• Discuss how the relationships with your parents influenced your growing up and character formation.
• Describe the experience of self-disclosure in your childhood and the consequences it had.  
• How I used to cope with stress at high school. 
• Write about your family trips and the effect they had on the relationships within your family.
• Analyze how the relationships with your peers impacted your growing up and adult life.
• How I learned to ride a bicycle .
• Examine how different teaching styles you’ve experienced in childhood influenced your growing up.  

In other words, try to focus on something that made your growing up experience memorable and tell about it.

What if you do not feel like talking about your own experience in the essay on growing up? Do not worry. There are many other ways to complete your paper.

What follows next are additional ideas for you:

• Write essays on growing up based on a work of literature or songs . Choose your favorite piece of literature or a song that talks about growing up. Write several paragraphs about the portrayal of the growing up period in music or literature.
• Write essays on growing up with a single parent . Write an essay about growing up without a father or mother. What is it like? What impact can it make on a person’s character? 
• Write about growing up without parents . A childhood spent in an orphanage or with distant relatives can have lasting consequences. Think about the effects it can have on a person’s character. 
• Write an essay about growing up in a small town. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of living in a small town . Why do you think it’s good or bad to live in a small town? 
• Write about youth growing up fast. Children become adults quite quickly. Discuss the possible reasons for children to grow up faster. 
• What happens to the mentally challenged children when they grow up? 
• Examine how Nhuong depicted childhood in the book Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam .
• Discuss the changes digital technology brought into a growing-up process.
• Childhood’s effect on adulthood: the story of John Wayne Gacy .
• Explain how the environment influences the growing up and physical development of a child.  
• Describe the relation between difficult childhood and personal development .
• Description of lost childhood in Night by E. Wiesel. 
• Analyze the consequences being bullied or being a bully in childhood may have in adult life.
• Frank Conroy’s childhood in his book Stop-Time.
• Explore how childhood development and growing up shown in Born to Learn video .
• Examine the stories about coming of age and infantilism in literature.   
• Discuss the peculiarities of growing up in multiracial family .
• Analyze the authors experience in Country Pride: What I Learned Growing Up in Rural America by Sarah Smarsh .
• Describe the problem of childhood obesity and the ways it influences children’s life.

👧 Growing Up Topics for College Essays

Writing a college essay about growing up essay is a great opportunity to reflect on the challenges and triumphs that made you who you are. Here are some compelling essay prompts and topics that will help you share your unique coming-of-age experience.

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• Essay on how growing up has shaped my life. Describe the pivotal moments from your upbringing that have had an impact on your personality and aspirations. You may also reflect on the lessons learned from your family, friends, community, and cultural surroundings. How did these experiences shape your values and worldview?
• What are the effects of growing up in poverty? Essays on this topic can explain how growing up in financially disadvantaged circumstances shapes people’s lives. If it’s something that resonates with you, you can write about it in your college essay. For example, describe the challenges you’ve faced and the experiences that have fostered your resilience. You can also analyze how these circumstances have impacted your values, such as a passion for social justice.
• What are the challenges of growing up? Consider the impact of family dynamics and cultural influences on your personal development. You can also discuss how overcoming these challenges has influenced you as a person and how it made you stronger.
• Is taking risks a necessary part of growing up? An essay on this topic can discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of taking risks at a young age. Is taking risks an essential part of maturing and gaining independence, or are there other ways to learn? Remember to provide examples to illustrate your point.
• Fear of growing up. For this essay, consider how young people grapple with the challenges of transitioning to adulthood. What anxieties are associated with leaving behind the safety of childhood? Discuss the potential consequences of the fear of embracing adult responsibilities and provide real-life examples.
• Explain how peer influence shapes a person’s identity.
• The challenges of being the oldest sibling.
• How does one’s cultural background determine one’s childhood milestones?
• Social media and the coming-of-age experience.
• How education shapes a person’s future opportunities.
• The impact of childhood experiences on adult development.
• Explore the influence of gender identity on your journey to adulthood.
• The connection between your childhood hobby and adult career choice.
• The importance of self-discovery in the process of growing up.
• Write about the challenges and joys of adolescence.

📝 College Essay about Growing Up: Example

For your inspiration, we came up with a growing-up college essay example. It will provide insights into the content and structure and help you write an outstanding paper.

I have always been captivated by the world of art. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I have been experimenting with different forms of self-expression, such as painting and sketching.

As a child, I was fortunate to have a supportive family that nurtured my love for art. My mother enrolled me in an art class and was always ready to provide me with supplies. All this helped foster my creativity to the point where I decided to pursue an art education in college.

During my teenage years, I was surrounded by a diverse group of friends who shared my interests. We went to galleries, attended art events, and collaborated on projects. These friendships enriched my artistic perspective even further. They also taught me about the diversity of creativity and expression.

In addition to art, I have various hobbies that help me become better at what I do. In particular, I enjoy reading non-fiction about renowned artists. Aside from traditional art forms, I also experiment with photography and digital design.

My family and friends played a major role in my decision to pursue a career as a creative. Their support and my belief in the power of self-expression will help me contribute to our school and the whole community.

Thank you for reading this article! Hopefully, you found the information written here useful. If so, don’t forget to comment and share this article with your friends.

This might be interesting for you:

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Essay on Growing Up In The 21st Century

Students are often asked to write an essay on Growing Up In The 21st Century in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Growing Up In The 21st Century

Introduction.

Growing up in the 21st Century is a unique experience. This era is marked by rapid changes in technology, culture, and society. It’s like a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs.

One of the main things about growing up now is technology. It’s everywhere! We use it for learning, playing, and connecting with friends. Smartphones, computers, and the internet have changed our lives in big ways.

Education in the 21st Century is different too. We learn not just from books, but also online. Websites, apps, and virtual classes make learning fun and easy. It’s a new way to gain knowledge.

Social Life

Social life has changed as well. We make friends not just in school, but also online. Social media allows us to connect with people all over the world. It’s exciting but also challenging.

In conclusion, growing up in the 21st Century is a unique journey. With technology, new ways of learning, and global connections, it’s a time full of opportunities and challenges.

250 Words Essay on Growing Up In The 21st Century

Growing up in the 21st century is a unique experience. It’s like living in two worlds at the same time. One world is the physical one, where we go to school, play with friends, and spend time with family. The other world is digital, where we use computers, smartphones, and the internet.

Technology and Learning

In the 21st century, technology plays a big role in our lives. We use it to learn new things. For example, we can use the internet to find information for school projects. We can also use apps on our phones to learn new languages or to practice math skills.

Communication

Communication has also changed. We can talk to people in different parts of the world through video calls. We can share photos and updates with friends on social media. But, it’s important to remember to use these tools wisely and be kind to others online.

Entertainment

For fun, we have many options. We can play video games, watch movies online, or listen to music on our phones. But, we should also make time to play outside and read books.

Growing up in the 21st century is exciting. We have many tools to help us learn and have fun. But, we must also learn to use these tools responsibly. We must remember to balance our time between the physical and digital worlds.

In conclusion, growing up in the 21st century is a mix of challenges and opportunities. We can use technology to learn, communicate, and have fun. But, we must also remember to be kind, be responsible, and keep a balance in our lives.

500 Words Essay on Growing Up In The 21st Century

Growing up in the 21st century is a unique and exciting experience. This era is marked by rapid advancements in technology, a global community, and changing social norms. It’s a time of great change and opportunity, but also comes with its own set of challenges.

The Influence of Technology

One of the most defining features of growing up in the 21st century is the role of technology in our lives. From smartphones to laptops, technology is everywhere. It has made life easier in many ways. For example, we can now learn about anything from anywhere through online classes. We can stay connected with friends and family no matter how far they are, thanks to social media. But, it’s important to remember that too much screen time can have negative effects, like less physical activity and face-to-face interaction.

Global Connections

The 21st century is often called the era of globalization. This means that the world is more connected than ever before. It’s easy to learn about different cultures, languages, and traditions without leaving our homes. This global perspective helps us understand and respect diversity. But, it also means that we have to compete with people from all over the world, not just our own town or country.

Changing Social Norms

Society is always changing, and the 21st century is no exception. Today, there’s a growing focus on equality and fairness. For example, there’s more awareness about the importance of equal rights for all, regardless of gender, race, or religion. This is a positive change, but it also means that we have to constantly learn and adapt to new ways of thinking and behaving.

Environmental Awareness

Growing up in the 21st century also means being more aware of our environment. There’s a growing understanding that we need to protect our planet for future generations. This has led to more emphasis on recycling, reducing waste, and using renewable energy. It’s a big responsibility, but it’s also an opportunity to make a positive impact on the world.

In conclusion, growing up in the 21st century is filled with opportunities and challenges. We have access to technology that makes our lives easier and connects us to the world. We’re part of a global community that values diversity and equality. And, we’re more aware of our impact on the environment. But, with these opportunities come responsibilities. We have to use technology wisely, respect and understand different cultures, adapt to changing social norms, and do our part to protect the environment. It’s an exciting time to be growing up, and the choices we make now will shape the future.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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How to Write the Community Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Life Experiences — Growing Up

Essays About Growing Up

What makes a good growing up essay topics.

When it comes to writing a compelling essay about growing up, choosing the right topic is crucial. A good essay topic should be thought-provoking, relevant, and engaging. It should allow the writer to explore their experiences, challenges, and growth in a meaningful way. Here are some recommendations on how to brainstorm and choose a great essay topic.

When brainstorming for a growing up essay topic, it's important to consider your own experiences and the lessons you have learned. Reflect on the pivotal moments in your life that have shaped you as a person. Consider the challenges you have faced, the lessons you have learned, and the people who have influenced you. These personal experiences can serve as a rich source of inspiration for your essay topic.

Furthermore, it's essential to choose a topic that is relatable and relevant to your audience. Consider the universal themes of growing up, such as self-discovery, identity, and the transition to adulthood. A good essay topic should resonate with the readers and evoke emotions and empathy.

Lastly, a good essay topic should be specific and focused. Avoid broad and generic topics that lack depth and personal connection. Instead, choose a specific aspect of growing up that is meaningful to you and allows for a deeper exploration.

Best Growing Up Essay Topics

When it comes to choosing the best growing up essay topics, creativity and originality are key. Here are some unique and thought-provoking essay topics that stand out:

• The impact of childhood friendships on personal growth
• Navigating cultural identity in a diverse world
• Overcoming adversity and finding resilience in adolescence
• The role of family dynamics in shaping personal values
• Embracing change and uncertainty during the teenage years
• The influence of social media on the coming-of-age experience
• Discovering passion and purpose in the transition to adulthood
• Challenging traditional gender roles and expectations
• Exploring the meaning of home and belonging in adolescence
• The significance of mentorship and guidance in the journey to adulthood
• Coping with loss and grief during the formative years
• The impact of travel and cultural immersion on personal growth
• Navigating mental health challenges in adolescence
• The influence of pop culture on teenage identity
• Embracing diversity and inclusion in the teenage years
• The significance of rites of passage in different cultures
• Overcoming imposter syndrome and self-doubt in adolescence
• The role of education in shaping personal values and beliefs
• The impact of technology on the teenage experience
• Embracing individuality and self-expression in the digital age

Growing Up essay topics Prompts

If you're looking for some creative prompts to inspire your growing up essay, here are some engaging ideas to get you started:

• Reflect on a specific childhood memory that has had a lasting impact on your personal growth and development. How has this experience shaped your values and beliefs?
• Explore the concept of "home" and how it has evolved for you over the years. How has your sense of belonging and identity changed as you've grown up?
• Consider a time when you faced a significant challenge or obstacle during your adolescent years. How did you overcome this adversity, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Think about a mentor or role model who has had a profound influence on your life. How have their guidance and support shaped your journey to adulthood?
• Examine the role of social media and technology in shaping your teenage experience. How has the digital age impacted your sense of self and identity?

Growing Up Tethered Sherry Turrkle Analysis

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To Kill a Mockingbird

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Over the course of the novel’s three years, Scout , Dill , and Jem grow up both physically and mentally. They begin the novel with a firm and uncomplicated idea of what’s good and what’s bad, but by the end of the novel, they’ve all lost their innocence and have come to a more complex understanding of how people and the world work. In particular, having Scout, whom the reader meets at age six, narrate the story allows the novel to show clearly how children lose their innocence as they grow—while also using Scout’s innocence to look freshly at Maycomb and her world to criticize its flaws.

Though Scout is a precocious child in a variety of ways, the novel also goes to great lengths to comically demonstrate how innocent and unaware Scout is of the world around her. For example, she believes Jem’s unfounded claim that the teaching method Miss Caroline promotes is called the Dewey Decimal System—in reality, a system of organizing a library—and referring to her and Jem’s snowman as an “Absolute Morphodite” in such a way that betrays that she has no idea what “morphodite” actually means (a hermaphrodite, a plant or animal with both male and female sex organs). The children also firmly believe, for the first year of the novel, that Boo Radley is a zombie-like figure who eats small mammals or, possibly, is dead and stuffed up the chimney of the Radley house. While undeniably humorous to the reader, who’s likely aware that these notions are ridiculous and incorrect, the beliefs themselves function as a window into just how youthful and innocent Scout, Jem, and Dill truly are.

The children’s innocence, as represented by these instances of misunderstandings or far-fetched superstitions, isn’t always entirely humorous, however. Particularly once Scout begins attending school, the novel suggests that even though children may be prone to this kind of nonsense and far-fetched storytelling, they’re still innately able to recognize the ridiculousness of the adult world around them, and in particular, the ineffectiveness of the school system. Scout’s precocity and intelligence means that when she enters the first grade, she already knows how to read and write, both printing and cursive—something that her teacher, Miss Caroline, finds threatening and offensive for seemingly no real reason, and even punishes Scout for. In this sense, Scout begins to see that the adult world is just as nonsensical as the reader can see that Scout’s childhood world is—though the adult world is one that forces growing children to conform and fall into line, rather than one that relies on imagination and individuality. With this, Scout is encouraged by Atticus to understand that while she may one day have to enter the world of adults and grow up, the path to get there is one on which she’ll have to fight constantly for her individuality. As the novel wears on and Scout witnesses terrible cruelty and injustice, it also suggests that she’ll also have to fight hard to maintain her sense of compassion, right, and wrong.

Mr. Gilmer ’s interrogation of Tom Robinson is a wakeup call for the children, and their reaction to Robinson’s the trial suggests that although children can be naïve, they are often more perceptive and compassionate than the supposedly mature adults around them. Dill, in particular, is angered and overcome by the rude and racist way that Mr. Gilmer speaks to Robinson. Outside the courthouse, Mr. Raymond , a man whom Scout previously thought was an evil drunk, suggests that Dill only has the reaction he does because he’s a child—as children grow, he suggests, they lose their capacity to cry over injustices like Robinson experiences, as they learn to conform to adult rules of polite society that forbid reactions like that (and for white people like Scout and Dill, also discourages that kind of compassion directed toward black people in the first place). Mr. Raymond is, notably, an outsider in Maycomb, as he’s white and yet lives with his black girlfriend because he wants to, a choice that’s unthinkable to even someone like Scout. It’s because of his outsider status that he’s able to make these observations and confirm for Dill that what’s happening to Robinson is awful—though it’s still possible, he suggests, that Dill will one day “fall into line” and conform to the hatred around him. Later, Atticus echoes Mr. Raymond when he tells an angry and tearful Jem that juries have been wrongfully convicting black men for years, will continue to do so, and that only children cry when it happens—another indicator that children, who are more unencumbered by social codes and pressure to fit in, are innately able to pick up on injustices like this. The hope, the novel suggests, is that they’ll be able to maintain this ability to look at the world in this way once they enter the adult world and face pressures to conform and bury their sense of right and wrong.

Tom Robinson’s trial represents the end of an era of blissful innocence for both Scout and Jem. Jem in particular struggles to understand how such a thing could’ve happened, a thought process that Atticus suggests simply reflects where Jem is in his development—at 13, Jem understands better than Scout how the case unfolded, which makes it more difficult in many ways for him to deal with. While the novel doesn’t resolve Jem’s angst and inability to wrap his head around what happened, it does offer hope that both he and Scout will be able to maintain their moral compasses, as well as their compassion, into adulthood. Scout’s major coming-of-age moment happens as she stands on the Radley porch and, as Atticus has instructed her to do at several points, "climb[s] into [Boo Radley's] skin.” She’s able to understand, through this, that Boo may be very different from her in a variety of ways, but he’s still a compassionate, self-sacrificial neighbor who’s worthy of respect and kindness. This leap in understanding suggests that as Scout continues to grow and develop past the novel’s close, she will be able to maintain her belief in what’s morally right, even as she loses her innocence and moves toward adulthood.

Growing Up ThemeTracker

Growing Up Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird

After my bout with Cecil Jacobs when I committed myself to a policy of cowardice, word got around that Scout Finch wouldn't fight any more, her daddy wouldn't let her.

“Atticus, you must be wrong…”

“How's that?”

“Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong…”

Dill's eyes flickered at Jem, and Jem looked at the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. “Atticus,” his voice was distant, “can you come here a minute, sir?”

Beneath its sweat-streaked dirt Dill's face went white. I felt sick.

Jem was standing in a corner of the room, looking like the traitor he was. “Dill, I had to tell him,” he said. “You can't run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin'.” We left him without a word.

“Well how do you know we ain't Negroes?”

“Uncle Jack Finch says we really don't know. He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament.”

“Well if we came out durin' the Old Testament it's too long ago to matter.”

“That's what I thought," said Jem, “but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.”

“The way that man called him 'boy' all the time an' sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered— … It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that—it just makes me sick.”

“They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.”

[Jem] was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world.

“Why couldn't I mash him?” I asked.

“Because they don't bother you,” Jem answered in the darkness. He had turned out his reading light.

A boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing-pole behind him. A man stood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and his children played in the front yard with their friend, enacting a strange little drama of their own invention.

It was fall, and his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dubose's [...] Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, the day's woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive.

Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog.

Summer, and he watched his children's heart break. Autumn again, and Boo's children needed him.

Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.

“When they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things…Atticus, he was real nice…” His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.” He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

Is Your Teen Anxious About Change and Growing Up?

Here are some reasons why and how to help..

Posted November 3, 2020

• What Is Anxiety?
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When we think of teenagers , we most often think of their hurried need to grow up. They can’t wait for more freedom and all the changes that come with moving through their teenage years to young adulthood. They want to date; they want to drive, and they want to move on from being a child.

Despite this being a typical trend, there is still another group of teens. It is comprised of those who are anxious about all these impending changes. Many teens are frightened by the prospect of so much change. The familiar is all they have known, and it feels comfortable. Venturing into the unknown feels overwhelming.

My own son falls into this second category. He does not like change. At age 16 and almost six feet tall, he has no intention of letting go of his bunk beds. Sometimes I worry he will give himself a concussion getting out of bed in the middle of the night! It also took us until he was 12 to convince him to let us get rid of the pre-school train table in his room. It hadn’t been used since he was around 5. The reason is simple. It makes him anxious to get rid of things that tie him to his youth.

My son’s difficulty with change has not stopped him from achieving most developmental milestones. Yet, in my clinical psychology practice, I often encounter teens who feel paralyzed by a fear of growing up. Among these teens I often see two thought processes dominating their thoughts about change.

First, they approach change with assumptions about whether a new stage will be “good” or “bad.”

In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we encourage people to observe things without judgment. In doing so, we distinguish between discriminative judgements and evaluative judgements. Discriminative judgments allow us to distinguish differences, such as this person is taller than that person. In contrast, evaluative judgments add value wherein one way is better than the other way when there is a difference.

With respect to moving on to a new stage, many teens leap from the discriminative judgement that the next stage will be different from past years to a more evaluative judgment. They assume those differences will be bad. For example, they might have assumptions that going into the next grade will be bad, without recognizing that it may just be different. It may also have both positive and negative attributes. There is a need to balance these thoughts because assuming a negative evaluation when change is predicted only increases anxiety .

Similar to making these evaluative judgments, teens afraid of change often have another imbalance in their thought process. Specifically, change typically involves two components: what we are losing and what we are gaining. These teens have a tendency to focus disproportionately on what they are losing. This is especially true when what they are gaining is unclear or not yet known.

In the example of my son’s train table, he was more focused on the loss of his train table rather than the gain of extra space for the desk he wanted. In a similar way, he (along with most teens) approach the fall as a loss of summer freedom while forgetting about the new possibilities and activities brought on by the start of a new year.

This hyper-focus on loss can be seen in larger scale transitions as well. It is very common for teenagers transitioning to college to become stuck in thoughts of what they will leave behind. They are losing specific comforts and a greater sense of familiarity. Yet, college brings endless possibilities for gains of new experiences.

Recognizing the role of evaluative judgments and hyper-focus on loss allows us to help these teens in two ways. We can first validate their thinking and then help them to shift it.

This first step of validation is crucial. If a teen believes we don’t understand their point of view, they will only dig in further. We do not need to agree that change is bad or full of loss. Rather we can acknowledge how scary the unknown can be. Let them know their feelings make sense even if they don’t fit the facts. As much as I would like my son to give up the risk of concussion with his bunk beds, I can validate that it makes sense to want to hold on to the comfort of his youth.

Once teenagers feel validated and understood, they will be more open to shifts in their thinking. At that point, we can continue to validate their current point of view while also highlighting gains in change and the reality that change involves positive and negative features. Furthermore, sometimes change is just different without being “good” or “bad.”

I do not think these teens will suddenly embrace change. However, these strategies may help them move forward with a little more ease. Most importantly, I like to remind teens, especially my own, that the one constant will always be my support.

Alisa Crossfield, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing at The Dialectical and Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center in Westport, Connecticut.

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Essay Samples on Growing Up

A story from my childhood: a cherished memory.

Childhood is a treasure trove of moments that shape our identities and leave an indelible mark on our lives. Among these memories, there's a story from my childhood that stands out like a beacon of warmth and happiness. It's a story that has been etched...

• Childhood Memories

Growing Up with Divorced Parents: Discussing the Topic of Divorce With Your Children

“Kids need parents not part-time visitors with a checkbook” how important it is to have to a male figure and a woman figure In your childhood? Understanding that your child’s growing stages could be affected because the child's parent doesn't want involvement with them. How...

Growing Up With Divorced Parents: The Impact of Divorce on the Children

Introduction Evidence suggests that children of divorced or separated parents have a higher tendency of being diagnosed with affective disorders such as depression, in comparison to children with parents who are still together. However, the effect size of this finding is weak. The reasons that...

Growing Up Without a Father: How it Has Affeted My Life

Growing up without a father in the family, and being raised by an independent mother has made me grateful for the people in my life, especially my mother. The journey of how a young adolescent’s life was impacted growing up without a father will be...

Lessons about Growing Up in "To Kill A Mockingbird" Novel

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story about growing up and learning about the real world. Throughout the book, many of the characters, particularly the protagonists, experience the hard lesson of growing up. Some of the characters offer guidance to Jem and...

• To Kill a Mockingbird

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Important Life Lessons in "To Kill a Mockingbird" Novel

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that teaches us about discrimination, both racist, religious and sexist. To some, this may be a disagreeable novel to read in high schools, but in fact, this novel teaches students historical content and the development...

• Childhood Lessons

The Issue of Age Discrimination Called Ageism

The issue of ‘age discrimination is not a new phenomenon. It has been in existence for hundreds of years. In many societies, people of old age have in most cases been vulnerable and treated with hostility. This hostility is still present in the world today...

Growing Up Without A Father: The Role Of A Father In Primary Socialization

In order for the human race to persist, it is essential that they reproduce and nurture new individuals. Every institute of the society has its own function and this task is taken over by the institution of ‘family’. The family, either nuclear or joint holds...

Growing Up Without A Father In Fight Club

Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club is a commentary on struggle for the search for self. The men in the story fight each other in order to assert their masculinity and in turn find a sense of self. The primary focus of the novel is on the...

Growing Up Without A Father And His Role In Childhood Development

There is a riches of indication on Fathers’ positive impact in early childhood development (ECD), as this has been a topic of interest to scientists working in early childhood development globally. Both children and fathers show positive effects when fathers take part in their development;...

• Parent-Child Relationship

The Story Of Max In Freak The Mighty

Max changed in so many ways from the beginning of the book, to the end, but probably the biggest area in growth was intelligently. Max barely even knew how to read. That was until Freak came along and tutored him, in so many categories from...

Neddy's Punishment in The Swimmer

Time passes quicker than it seems most times. Neddy is a character that experiences this as he shifts from pool to pool. Although everything seems nice in his suburban, quaint life, his despair and hopelessness seeps through as he runs away from nothing. In Cheever’s...

• The Swimmer

Personal Input of Tobias Wolff in His Works

Tobias Wolff is a contemporary writer whose work is so understandable, mesmerizing, and a little weird at times, a reader wants to take it apart and find some simple way to describe it (Ansell, 2011). Although sometimes taking place in such foreign locations, Wolff's stories...

• Short Story
• This Boy's Life

The Question of What It Means to Be a Human

The whole question of what it means to be human can de defined in many different ways. The overall idea of humanity is constantly being bounced around between a variety of perspectives, trying to understand what the life we live in means. To me, I...

• Human Nature
• Personal Growth and Development

Coming of Age in Mississippi: Growing Up in Discrimination

Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, in my honest opinion I thought the book would be boring, I am happy to say that I was wrong. This story about Anne’s life was really insightful and inspiring. Throughout Anne’s memoir I read about all...

• Coming of Age

Reaching the Age of Emotional Maturity

Whilst growing up, we come in contact with numerous people of different orientations, attitudes, actions, and very important ideas. And we wonder why they act how they act or why they say some things they say? Or wow? Due to my upbringing, I would say...

• Human Development

How My Brother Shaped My Personality In Childhood

A majestic playground filled with laughs and memories, and a beautiful curly-headed little girl with locks of gold to match her massive pearl colored house and picture-perfect family. Soon enough to realize that it was all in the distance of my imagination. Growing up with...

• Family Values

Chickamauga By Ambrose Bierce: The Struggles Of Americans During Civil War

Innocence is the one thing we try to hang on to as humans and as Americans. When I say innocence, I also mean ignorance. As most people say, ignorance is bliss. Chickamauga is a story about a boy losing his innocence and his ignorance about...

Consequences Of Growing Up Privileged

Recently, the United States has experienced an expansion in its upper-income societies. From the year 2000 to 2014, the number of adults living in upper-income households increased by 76 percent in observed metropolitan areas. (America’s Shrinking Middle Class) Children of these upper-income families are exposed...

Personal Experience Of Traveling On My Own And Growing Up

I do not come from a big religious or cultural family. Thus I have not had a huge coming of age experience in my lifetime. However in the fall 2017, I had little a bit of a life changing experience. I was offered to go...

• Life Changing Experience

My Experience Of Growing Overnight

Although at age four I thought I could understand the advice given to me, for whatever reason, I didn’t understand my Mother’s words; “Growing up takes time.” In my bright, red painted room, I could see my mother towering over me trying her best to...

Best topics on Growing Up

1. A Story From My Childhood: A Cherished Memory

2. Growing Up with Divorced Parents: Discussing the Topic of Divorce With Your Children

3. Growing Up With Divorced Parents: The Impact of Divorce on the Children

4. Growing Up Without a Father: How it Has Affeted My Life

5. Lessons about Growing Up in “To Kill A Mockingbird” Novel

6. Important Life Lessons in “To Kill a Mockingbird” Novel

7. The Issue of Age Discrimination Called Ageism

8. Growing Up Without A Father: The Role Of A Father In Primary Socialization

9. Growing Up Without A Father In Fight Club

10. Growing Up Without A Father And His Role In Childhood Development

11. The Story Of Max In Freak The Mighty

12. Neddy’s Punishment in The Swimmer

13. Personal Input of Tobias Wolff in His Works

14. The Question of What It Means to Be a Human

15. Coming of Age in Mississippi: Growing Up in Discrimination

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Falling Down Is Part Of Growing Up Essay

In his essay, “Falling Down Is Part of Growing up”, Henry Petroski explains how all humans experience failure throughout their lives. The author compares nursery rhymes with the evolution of the human body and how they evolve as they grow older. He also describes how kids don’t realize the purpose or the meaning of things, but as they grow older, they realize the purpose of things and life in general. He also explains how failure is part of life and the inspiration of great innovations. Henry emphases how past failures in life are the reason for future success.

Like the author, when I was a little kid, I didn’t know the meaning of things and their purpose. My parent used to read me a lot of stories, even though I didn’t understand their meaning. As a kid you are so innocent to understand the purpose of things in your life. My parents were teaching me things I didn’t understand to prepare me for my future. As I grew up I was able to realize the purpose and the meaning of things in my life. I was able to understand the meaning of the stories my parents used to read me when I was a little kid. Over the years I realized that I was able to search and understand the purpose of things in my life that I never knew before. I was capable of accepting failure knowing that better results will follow no matter how many times I fail.

Growing up I had a strict parent that valued education and good behavior above anything else. My parent moved to Kenya a few years after my birth because of the conflict in our homeland. The purpose of the move to Kenya was to give me and my siblings the best chance for a better future by giving me an education and a safe place to live. Even though I was a little kid and couldn’t attend school, my mom would take me every day to her school, which was for adults and moms with young children. In her school, there was a room where all the children played while their parents were learning and I would always get in trouble with the lady who cared for the children because of my behavior of fighting with other kids and breaking the toys.

When I started attending kindgerdan which they call primary school in Kenya, student did some of the things elementary school students do in America. At first, everything was hard because of the language barrier. It was important for the students to speak in Swahili to understand the teacher and the assignments. Since my parents didn’t speak Swahili, I was not able to get the help I need to finish my assignments and learn the language very quickly. The only time I spoke Swahili was in school and when I am at home or playing with friends I would speak in Somali and that made it difficult for me to learn the language. Even though I was having a language issue was able to overcome my failures and get good grades during this time . Although it was challenging my parents encouraged me to work hard and even asked my Kenyan neighbors to help me with my homework. All of sudden I was able to understand my teachers better and even help my parents when they need to communicate with Swahili speaking people.

For the next few years I was able to go through primary school with ease. When I started 5th grade everything was getting difficult. Everything was getting difficult in and outside of school and that was taking its toll on my education. My parents were having issues with authorities because the government doesn’t allow people without Kenyan identity cards to live in the capital city. Even though my parents tried their best to shield me from the difficulties they were experience with their residence status, my grades suffered.

I started not to care about anything especially school and I developed a deep dislike of the Kenyan police because I saw them as the enemy that wants to destroy my life. In Kenya the police are corrupt and they would harass my family and threated us with arrest if we don’t pay bribe money to them. With the challenges we faced daily in Kenya, me and my family decided that it was in our best interest to move out of Kenya and find a place that it safe and more welcoming than Kenya.

After a lot of consideration family and I decided to move to Ethiopia which was a country we heard a lot of good things about even though I knew there may be hostility against us. For the past few decades there was political hostility between Somalia and Ethiopia and my family and I took that into consideration. By the time we moved to Ethiopia my father was in the U.S and he was helping us financially and that was something we didn’t have before.

We also had some relatives that would be helping us to settle down in the capital city Adidas Ababa. The move to Ethiopia meant that I had to learn another language which was even harder than Swahili. Since my father was in the U.S my family and I were in the process of moving and reuniting our family in the U.S. for this reason I didn’t attend a formal school instead I started going to a local religious school. Since I wasn’t attending a public school I only needed to learn the basic Amharic to communicate with the natives. Everything was easier than I thought at the beginning, but as time went on things got difficult for me.

Although everything was easy and peaceful at the beginning, life got little complicated and challenging as time passed. While everyone in my family was so excited to learn everything about our new city but I was so excited. Started to dislike the weather and almost everything about the city especially the neighborhood I lived in. I got the feeling that the citizens didn’t want us in their city because of our nationality. One of the biggest things that cause me to hate living in the Addis Ababa was the fact the Ethiopians would harass me for no reason. Whenever I go out to play soccer, older Ethiopian teenagers would come to soccer field and they would search our bags for money.

Since they were older than me there was nothing I could have done to stop them from stealing my money. The worst thing about the experience was that if I tried to defend myself against that kids same age as me the adult would get involve. They would take the side of the Ethiopian instead of stopping that fight between me and the Ethiopian kid. The Ethiopian citizens in Addis Ababa were united on their hate against foreigners especially people with Somali decent. With all the hardship and failures I experienced in Ethiopia I was able to not let those things get to me because if I did I wouldn’t be able to survive the life in Addis Ababa.

After a few year in Ethiopia. My family and I were accepted to move to the United States to reunite with my father. After all the hardships and failures I faced while I was living in Kenya and Ethiopia, I was hoping for a fresh start when I moved to the U.S, but rather it was another phase of my long struggle. There was no place where this struggle was more real than school. During this time whenever I walked through the school hallway, I felt like I was not even there and everyone I met looked at me in a way that made me regret my decision to come to America. Some people in my school were very welcoming and open-minded, but the majority of them were not welcoming. Because of the feeling of being unwelcomed, I wasn’t able to integrate into school as soon as I was expected to by my instructor and that opened the door for failure.

In conclusion, I was able to learn that failures and challenges are part of life and no matter what you do you wouldn’t be able to escape it. Even if I leave the place where I was experiencing the difficulties and move to another place, still there will be another challenge waiting for me in my new place. Failures are lessons that would help you not to make the same mistake again.

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"Mammoth" carbon capture facility launches in Iceland, expanding one tool in the climate change arsenal

Updated on: May 10, 2024 / 10:41 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

Hellisheidi, Iceland —  With Mammoth's 72 industrial fans, Swiss start-up Climeworks intends to suck almost 40,000 tons of CO2 from the air annually to bury underground, vying to prove the technology has a place in the fight against global warming. Mammoth, the largest carbon dioxide capture and storage facility of its kind, launched operations this week situated on a dormant volcano in Iceland.

The facility adds significant capacity to Climework's first project, Orca, which also sucks the primary greenhouse gas that is fueling climate change out of the atmosphere.

How does Climeworks capture CO2?

Just 31 miles from an active volcano, the seemingly risky site was chosen for its proximity to the Hellisheidi geothermal energy plant necessary to power the facility's fans and heat chemical filters to extract CO2 with water vapor.

The CO2 is then separated from the steam and compressed in a hangar where huge pipes crisscross.

Finally, the gas is dissolved in water and pumped underground with a "sort of giant SodaStream," said Bergur Sigfusson, chief system development officer for Carbfix, which developed the process.  

A well, drilled under a futuristic-looking dome, injects the water 2,300 feet down into the volcanic basalt that makes up 90% of Iceland's subsoil, where it reacts with the magnesium, calcium and iron in the rock to form crystals — solid reservoirs of CO2.

There are a number of other CO2 capture technologies being put to use around the world, including in the U.S., where the Biden administration has committed nearly $4 billion to jumpstart the industry.

The methods range from warehouses full of stacked limestone blocks that absorb CO2 like sponges to burying compressed industrial and agricultural waste to lock the gas away for centuries.

Lofty carbon capture ambitions

For the world to achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2050, "we should be removing something like six to 16 billion tonnes [17.6 U.S. tons] of CO2 per year from the air," said Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-chief of Climeworks, at the inauguration of the first 12 container fans at Mammoth.

"I quite strongly believe that a large share of these... need to be covered by technical solutions," he said.

"Not we alone, not as a single company. Others should do that as well," he added, setting his start-up of 520 employees the goal of surpassing millions of tons by 2030 — and approaching a billion by 2050.

Speaking last year with CBS' 60 Minutes, Climeworks' chief technology officer Carolos Haertel said that technically the scaling up process can be done on a global scale — but he also said a single company can't do it, and he hinted that political will must also be behind the initiatives. 

"Whether we are taking the right direction will depend as much on societal things than on technical matters," Haertel told 60 Minutes' Bill Whitaker at the Orca facility. "Am I optimistic as an engineer? I am, absolutely. Am I optimistic as a citizen? Maybe half-half. I haven't made my mind up yet."

Three years after opening Orca, Climeworks will increase its capacity from about 4,409 to 44,000 tons of CO2 captured annually once Mammoth is at full capacity — but that represents just seconds of the world's actual emissions.

One of the companies interviewed by CBS News in 2023 about its plans to ramp up carbon capture operations said it hopes to eventually be locking away 50,000 tons of CO2 per year.

Only part of the solution to address emissions

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations' climate expert body, carbon removal technologies will be necessary to meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement, but major reductions of emissions are the priority.

The role of direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS) remains minor in the various climate models due to its high price, and its deployment on a large scale depends on the availability of renewable energy to power it.

Climeworks is a pioneer, with the two first plants in the world to have surpassed the pilot stage at a cost of around $1,000 per ton captured. Wurzbacher expects that cost to decline to just $300 by 2030.

More than 20 new infrastructure projects, developed by various players and combining direct capture and storage, should be operational worldwide by 2030, with a combined capacity of around 11 million of tons.

"We need probably around $10 billion to proceed over the next decade to deploy our assets" in the United States, Canada, Norway, Oman and Kenya, said Christoph Gebald, Climeworks co-founder and co-chief. That's 10 times what the company has already raised.

"When I'm standing now at Orca I think: 'Oh this looks like a little bit like Lego bricks'. It's a tiny thing compared to Mammoth," Wurzbacher said.

Lego bought carbon credits generated by Climeworks for every ton of CO2 stored. The credits are a way of making the solution known to the general public, Gebald said, who has not ruled out selling credits to "big polluters" as well.

Critics of the technology point to the risk of giving them "license to pollute" or diverting billions of dollars that could be better invested in readily available technology such as renewable energy or electric vehicles.

• Climate Change
• Auto Emissions
• Carbon Capture
• Global warming

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• May 10, 2024   •   27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
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Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand

The porn star testified for eight hours at donald trump’s hush-money trial. this is how it went..

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This episode contains descriptions of an alleged sexual liaison.

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Jonah Bromwich, one of the lead reporters covering the trial for The Times, was in the room.

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Jonah E. Bromwich , who covers criminal justice in New York for The New York Times.

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In a second day of cross-examination, Stormy Daniels resisted the implication she had tried to shake down Donald J. Trump by selling her story of a sexual liaison.

Here are six takeaways from Ms. Daniels’s earlier testimony.

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Kendrick Lamar Won’t Stop Pressing the Red Button

It's been a historic weekend.

Once upon a time, a dick-measuring contest threatened to destroy the whole world. After J. Robert Oppenheimer helped create the planet’s first atomic bombs, the United States and Russia found themselves in a race to develop as many nukes as possible, just so the other country knew not to fuck with the other. This idea evolved into the concept of “mutually assured destruction,” which is to say, “if you nuke us, we’ll nuke you.” Or as the late Prodigy once said, “I’m going out blasting, taking my enemies with me.” To put it simply, the fate of our existence depended on a general confidence in our rivals not being totally on one. Now, following a lengthy period of silent conflict and ammunition-stacking in the Great Rap War of 2024 , Drake and Kendrick Lamar are on a thousand, throwing caution to the wind in the most epic rap beef in decades. 

After years of covert sneak disses, and a couple weeks of jabs, the two rappers had been prepping to unload their WMDs on Friday, May 3. Before this, both had threatened the other by hinting at owning a whole bunch of nukes (a narrative that was also pushed on The Joe Budden Podcast ). But now it was time to see who would blink first. On Friday night, Drake entered his nuclear launch codes—mutually assured, whatever be damned—by releasing “Family Matters,” which ends with serious (but currently unverified) claims about Kendrick allegedly abusing his wife. Drake fans rejoiced and took their victory laps, noting the sharp wordplay, the disrespectful easter eggs, and even the spinny G-Unit medallion. But then Kendrick pressed his own red button. Then he pressed it again. 

View this video on YouTube

The first explosion came 37 minutes after Drake’s strike. Titled “Meet the Grahams,” it’s an Alchemist-produced diss conceived in a cauldron of vengeance and utter wickedness. Featuring downbeat percussion and dreary keys, it’s a soundtrack for the sinister, built around a sample from Andrew Wartts and The Gospel Storytellers’ “Can You Say Yeah?” That particular song was released in 1982 on an album called There Is a God Somewhere , but listening to “Meet The Grahams” too many times, you’ll start to think there isn’t. Here, Kendrick takes the gloves off for something intimate, piercing, and altogether uncomfortable. Part lecture, part bedtime story, the track sees Kendrick addressing Drake’s son Adonis, Drake’s parents and, finally, an 11-year-old daughter Kendrick says Drake’s abandoned (Drake says it’s cap). 

Kendrick employs all of his theatrical gifts on “Meet the Grahams,” using the timbre of his voice and exaggerated inflections to convey everything from genuine concern to complete disgust. Speaking to Drake’s son Adonis—or, pretending to—in the first verse, Kendrick runs through all of the Toronto rapper’s perceived shortcomings as a man. He calls out Drake for allegedly hooking up with escorts. He references the time T.I.’s friend allegedly peed on Drake’s leg. He brings up the idea that Drake disowned Adonis’ mother out of shame. It’s an extremely condescending way of saying, “Listen here, son, don’t be like your daddy.” It’s cutting, and it’s as technically sharp as it is well-acted. “And you're a good kid, need that good leadership/ Let me be your mentor, since your daddy don't teach you shit,” Kendrick raps, carrying all the paternal warmth of a concerned father. From there, he pretends to tell Drake’s parents that their son is a pedophile, phasing into a frenzied delivery that carries the urgency of a priest performing an exorcism. He might as well be saying, “The power of Christ compels you.” Drake’s team says the part about him having an abandoned daughter is a lie, but even without that, the damage was done.

History might gloss over “Family Matters” in light of Kendrick’s clapback, but “Family Matters” is a strong ass diss record. Boi1da and Tay Keith come through for a proper drive-by soundtrack. And similarly to “Push Ups,” the raps themselves are an exercise in efficiency, as Drake makes time to go at Kendrick, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross, and others without a lot of wasted movement. Most scandalously, he accuses Kendrick of abusing his wife, having a child with Kendrick’s business partner Dave Free, and being a deadbeat father. Similar to Kendrick’s claims about the 11-year-old daughter, these allegations haven’t been substantiated and K. Dot had previously implied that Drake is simply “fabricating lies on the family front cause [he] heard Mr. Morale.” But Drake gets off his accusations with tidy rhyme schemes and concision, hitting Kendrick with bars like, “Why you never hold your son and tell him, ‘Say cheese?’ We could've left the kids out of this, don't blame me/You a dog and you know it, you just play sweet/Your baby mama captions always screamin', ‘Save me.” Drake’s accusation is extremely serious, one that Kendrick will have to address, and the whole song is a rap character assassination distilled in a cold-blooded way. 

Still, “Family Matters” won’t be remembered as a knockout punch in this battle. Drake’s multitasking is impressive, but scattered attention takes some power out of his blows. He tries to unload some bomb shells, but judging by the reception on social media after it landed, it’s not having the impact Drake may have expected. Kendrick’s strategic move to drop directly after “Family Matters” both took the wind out of the Drake’s sails and put a hole in the boat. To date, Drake’s Twitter post for “Family Matters” has been retweeted 27,000 times. Kendrick’s post for “Meet The Grahams” has been retweeted 127,000 times. That’s just one silly metric, but overall public opinion seemed to be swaying in Kendrick’s direction. 

But Kendrick wasn’t finished. Shoving his index finger onto the blood-red sphere of temptation on Saturday night, he tapped in with Mustard for “Not Like Us,” easily the biggest banger of the rap war since “Like That.” Remember when Kendrick said that if he had to smack the shit out of somebody he’d make it look sexy? “Meet The Grahams” wasn’t sexy. “Not Like Us” is. The track works on a few levels. One, it has perhaps the best Mustard production since “Ballin.” Two, the hook is infectious as it is symbolic. And it’s an exclusionary sentiment aimed at Drake and anyone like him, effectively making it a rallying cry; whatever “they” are, they’re not like “us.” Videos of folks turning up to the song at clubs have already flooded the web, and it’s unlikely that’ll stop any time soon. 

Those elements alone make it one of the best songs of 2024 so far. But Kendrick fuses all of these with some of the most incisive bars of this entire battle royale. He recalls a shameful instance of Drake betrayal: “Fucked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that's connivin/ Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizing." Elsewhere, he continues to accuse Drake of pedophilia, using some cheesy, but effective wordplay to make his point in an instantly memorable micro-climax: “Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor. 

The surgical deconstruction doesn’t stop there. In the fourth verse, Kendrick uses a minor history lesson and a trip to Drake’s own recent history to paint the Toronto rapper as a culture vulture. He calls out Drake for his “Family Matters” bar about Kendrick rapping like he’s “about to get the slaves freed” before suggesting that Drake steals various parts of his style from Atlanta: “You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin' colonizer.” Harsh, dexterous and utterly irresistible, “Not Like Us” completed a historic Kendrick hat trick. Even a Drake Stan like DJ Akademiks had to admit, “'Not Like Us' might be a legit hit song.. shit too hard.”

Predictably, the internet has been totally chaotic since. Adonis is trending. Mustard is trending. “Family Matters” is trending. “Not Like Us” is trending. Literally, everything related to this whole thing is trending. It’s the aftershock of a titanic rap battle we might never see again. After all, it’s rare that technical rhyming skillsets match up to the accolades. Drake’s won so many Grammys he stopped giving a fuck about them years ago. He’s got more slaps than the Beatles. Kendrick’s got Grammys and No. 1 hits. And he won a Pulitzer Prize. 

If you’re looking for a historical precedent, you have to go back at least 23 years. That’s when Jay-Z and Nas went at it. But imagine if Hov and Esco dropped “Takeover” and “Ether” back-to-back on the same night. What if they dropped “Supa Ugly” and “Made You Look” just a couple days after that? What if The Notorious B.I.G. decided to make fun of Afeni’s addiction and release a Tupac diss so scathing that it made “Hit Em Up” look like “We Are the World”? 

On a less theoretical level, you can look back to Drake dropping “Charged Up” and “Back to Back” in a four-day span. He went back to back. Kendrick went back-to-back twice. On “Not Like Us,” he hints that he’s got several more Drake disses on deck, too. Even folks like ScHoolboy Q seem to be hinting that more deadly assaults are imminent. When he dissed Drake and J. Cole on “Like That” a little over a month ago, Kendrick brought back that old feeling. Now, he’s brought us something we never felt before, and the end of the world never sounded so good.

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