response 1 of 35:

Dec 11 05:21 UTC 1996

Generally I tend to think of myself as an adult, except that I often find
myself deealing with various older-than-me people and thinking of them as
adults and therefore somehow different than me.  I guess I'm still somewhere
inbetween, which leads up to a really shameless plug for the InBetween
conference. ;)

response 3 of 35:

Dec 11 07:36 UTC 1996

Would the statement: "I may be growing older, but I'm never growin up" put
light on my attitude towards the child/adult situation?

response 5 of 35:

Dec 11 16:34 UTC 1996

You give me some definitions of "feeling like an adult" and "feeling like
a child", and I will tell you which I feel like at the mopment you ask.
The answer is very likely to be "both". I'm not sure it is possible to
make it an either-or proposition: everyone, from birth to death, has
similar emotions.  The inputs and responses change, but those are not
necessarily based on how one is feeling.

response 7 of 35:

Dec 11 17:04 UTC 1996

As Steve said, I generally feel like an adult, except when I am around certain
people - teachers I had in elementary and middle school, and people that I knew
as adults when I was in elementary and middle school.  I think that "feeling
like an adult" has a lot to do with how much responsibility someone is given. 
I worked for my parents for almost 3 years.  I started working there when I was
14, and I had very few responsibilities; I didn't even have a set schedule, I
just came in when I wanted to.  When I left there this September, I held a
management position.  Somewhere along the way I went from a child to an adult,
but I don't know where.  I think that it is something that you grow into -- I'm
sure that everybody remembers when they were 11 or 12 wanting to act and appear
as an adult sometimes, but not all the time...  I'm not sure that I want to be
an adult all the time even now, and I'm 17.  

response 9 of 35:

Dec 11 19:23 UTC 1996

I began to realize in my first year of college, when I was 18, that I was
beginning to change from what I felt was a child into what I felt was an
adult.  I couldn't give a definition of either, but I started to pay closer
attention, andby the time I turned 19, I thought of myself as an adult.  THis
does not mean that I don't thin kI have more growth to do, heaven forbid. 
I just think that there was a line that I crossed somewhere in my 18th year.
A very broad line that took a long time to cross, it's true, but a line
nonetheless.

response 11 of 35:

Dec 11 21:31 UTC 1996

the only time I feel like a child is when I am around my three
year old nephew.  He is already moremature and intelligent than I am.
He's even made me see the deep philosophoicalmeanings of
Barney videos!

response 13 of 35:

Dec 12 01:00 UTC 1996

I feel more like a child when I'm with younger folks (around 20 years old),
then people younger than that make me feel very much like an adult.  Older
folks make me feel like an adult in a different way, in that I get  or can
grab more respect than I could when I was younger.  Teachers especially I can
see that happen in.

response 15 of 35:

Dec 12 10:08 UTC 1996

I am an adult to be sure. Not too long ago, a nice young lady that I had been
talking to in a restraunt asked me if I was married. "Why do you ask?" 
"Oh," she said "You're really a neat guy. I was thinking maybe you could go
out with my mother."  The young lady was nineteen and I was totally surprised
by this never-be-for sure-to-experience again comment. I'm at a point were
I don't fit in with the twenty somethings and the forty somethings seem like
ordinary people. I'm thirty-five and just feel adult.

response 17 of 35:

Dec 12 16:47 UTC 1996

#14...scg that was unnecessary and not relevant to this item...and you accuse
me of making personal attacks...sheesh   

response 19 of 35:

Dec 12 20:42 UTC 1996

I think it would be hard for a kid, who hasn't yet actually been/become an
adult, to feel like an adult...  Whereas an adult has been both a kid and
an adult, and so should know the difference in feelings between them...
Of course, this presupposes there is actually some defining moment when a kid
becomes an adult...

Don't worry, though:  If your parents didn't have kids, you won't either! 
 ;-)

response 21 of 35:

Dec 13 10:34 UTC 1996

Re #18: Jan, your sign IS dog, by Chinese zodiac.

        Speaking of cows, they are part of the scenery I remember
        most about my recent trip to France (in May): snow-white
        cows in lush pastureland, occasionally also covered by
        patches of purple and yellow flowers. While watching this
        on my train ride from Paris to Montpellier, Debussy's
        ultra-beautiful "Reverie" repeatedly appeared in my
        head (played in flute). I thoroughly enjoyed the experience
        --- one of the major reasons why I love to be a train
        passenger.

        I also enjoyed watching documentaries about trains on PBS.
        The most impressive documentary was one about trains in India.

        I hate being a car passenger on the back row though, as it
        tends to make me road-sick. I'd rather drive.

response 23 of 35:

Dec 13 20:38 UTC 1996

I feel like a child when I am doing things that I have been doing since I was
a child, things like writing and singing and  figuring how much money I have
left and how much I can spend.

I feel like an adult when I am doing things that I didn't have to do until
I moved out on my own, like paying rent, paying bills, teaching, etc.

It just depends on what I'm doing.  I don't think I will ever completely stop
feeling like a child at least some of the time.