--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The struggle to be considered a grown-up…" description: "\"The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth.\" — Wendy Wasserstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png" --- # The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I… ![“The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth.” quote by Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png) > “The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth.” [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Maturity is a lifelong process that starts shortly after birth, not a sudden event. **In simple terms:** Growing up is a continuous journey. Key Takeaway Accept ongoing development. Themes psychhood development identity growth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - parenting - education - career planning Key Concepts sociology lifelong learning Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure personal growth? - What habits nurture continual development? A Different Perspective Society often expects instant maturity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Considered Grown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-grown-5256969/) [Grown Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-begins-5256967/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Shortly Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortly-birth-5256970/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-considered-5256968/) ## Related quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [In their youth, mortals behave more like nymphs. Adulthood seems impossibly distant, let alone the enfeeblement of old age. But ponderously, inevitably, it overtakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/in-their-youth-mortals-behave-more-like-nymphs-adulthood-seems/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-secret-of-adulthood-is-never-start-a-sentence-with-the-words-no/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) [Guy Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-code/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) ## More by Wendy Wasserstein > [One of the things about what . . . I do - writing plays - is that a poll is not taken before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/one-of-the-things-about-what-i-do-writing-plays-is-that-a-poll-is-not/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [anyone who writes plays is unbelievably persistent, because there isn't a need in the world for plays. Somehow you internally have to feel a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/anyone-who-writes-plays-is-unbelievably-persistent-because-there-isn/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I really worked at becoming more assertive, and now none of my friends talk to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-really-worked-at-becoming-more-assertive-and-now-none-of-my-friends/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Sometimes I want to clean up my desk and go out and say, respect me, I'm a respectable grown-up, and other times I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/sometimes-i-want-to-clean-up-my-desk-and-go-out-and-say-respect-me-i/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Personally I don't spend much time thinking about being funny. For me it's always been just a way to get by, a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/personally-i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-being-funny-for-me/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/no-matter-how-lonely-you-get-or-how-many-birth-announcements-you/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [The trick. . .is to find the balance between the bright colors of humor and the serious issues of identity, self-loathing, and the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-trick-is-to-find-the-balance-between-the-bright-colors-of-humor/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [being funny is a way of being liked and a way of dealing with sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/being-funny-is-a-way-of-being-liked-and-a-way-of-dealing-with-sadness/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Being a grownup means assuming responsibility for yourself, for your children, and - here's the big curve - for your parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/being-a-grownup-means-assuming-responsibility-for-yourself-for-your/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [No matter how successful I become as a playwright, my mother would be thrilled to hear me tell her that I'd just lost twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/no-matter-how-successful-i-become-as-a-playwright-my-mother-would-be/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I very much write from characters. Those people start speaking, and then I have them in the house with me and I live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-very-much-write-from-characters-those-people-start-speaking-and/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [“In the world of The Age of Innocence , a financial disaster or moral scandal would permanently exile a guest from the finest dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/in-the-world-of-the-age-of-innocence-a-financial-disaster-or-moral/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [to live life as a writer is a very lucky thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/to-live-life-as-a-writer-is-a-very-lucky-thing/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Sloth is the fastest-growing lifestyle movement in the world, and that's because it is completely doable. If you embrace sloth, it's the last thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/sloth-is-the-fastest-growing-lifestyle-movement-in-the-world-and-that/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I'm not going to throw my imagination away. I refuse to lie down to expectation. If I can just hold out till I'm thirty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-m-not-going-to-throw-my-imagination-away-i-refuse-to-lie-down-to/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) [Explore all 36 Wendy Wasserstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) [Guy Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-code/) > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-secret-of-adulthood-is-never-start-a-sentence-with-the-words-no/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [In their youth, mortals behave more like nymphs. Adulthood seems impossibly distant, let alone the enfeeblement of old age. But ponderously, inevitably, it overtakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/in-their-youth-mortals-behave-more-like-nymphs-adulthood-seems/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendy Wasserstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up-begins-i-believe-shortly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adulthood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up-begins-i-believe-shortly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/wendy-wasserstein-17736_adulthood_the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up_1457456.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth.” — Wendy Wasserstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wendy Wasserstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The struggle to be considered a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up-begins-i-believe-shortly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-struggle-to-be-considered-a-grown-up-begins-i-believe-shortly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```