one more thought to remember, what defines adulthood? i read somewhere once that an adult is "a person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle." i do not know how responsibility and the acquisition of things, and even perhaps intangible things such as trust or love come into play with this, but maybe it is the most realistic deifinition i have yet to encounter. somehow i am still compelled to believe that wisdom and a certain knowingness is related, yet i cannot pinpoint a definition that satisfies my need to understand.