"While it is easy to be suspicious of the cultural appropriation of selfhood as it relates to growing up, it is important to think about what a more accurate way of depicting what this vital, transitory period might look like. Humans create their own histories but, as it is now, the culturally prescribed template for growing up says there is a time for growing up and then there is a time for being a grown-up. The ultimate goal of social integration that lies at the heart of American coming-of-age tales is problematic because it gets in the way of real life. If we are convinced we’re trapped in a dichotomy – growing up or being grown-up – there is little room to actually grow, to make the mistakes or live the kind of life that leads to genuine maturity. Likewise, if an individual is convinced that he is already grown-up, he will do little in the way of self-improvement, or growth: which is the kind of maturation that one should pursue throughout a lifetime and not merely as a rite of passage."