Emerging Adulthood

Objective:
The purpose of this assignment is to gain further understanding of issues related to college and
career among emerging adults.
Instructions:
For this homework assignment, you will nee to read pages 295-313 in your textbook and the
vignette given below. Once you have read the textbook and vignette answer the questions that
follow. Be sure you are answering the questions completely and using your own words.
Vignette:

After graduating from high school in the middle of his class, David looked forward to pursuing his
dream of becoming a lawyer. But his freshman year at Sate U was a nightmare. His courses felt
irrelevant. He zoned out during lectures. The work seemed impossibly hard. Especially after a
night of clubbing, he couldn’t make it to class. David knew he was too immature to get through
sophomore year, much less graduate. The only solution seemed to be to drop out for a while and
extend his part-time sales associate job to 40 hours a week.
David was getting by financially—and having much more fun—although he still needed to rely on
his parents for help with the car payments and rent. Then, headquarters eliminated his branch
store, and David was suddenly fired. What followed was a series of temporary jobs that never
paid more than $500 a week. Finally, David’s parents intervened and encouraged their wayward
son to enroll in bartending school.
After getting his certificate, David spent some time with a buddy in Florida, then moved to
California and got a job tending bar at a Hilton. Next came a year at the Amsterdam Marriott,
followed by some exciting months traveling through the Far East. Then, at age 25, completely
broke, David moved back home with his parents for six months.
David thought about returning to college, but rejected that idea. Academics just aren’t his thing.
He’s passionate to go into business—perhaps get a loan to start his own restaurant. The reason
is that he met a wonderful woman named Clara. If things continue to progress, they plan to get engaged. After all, David’s life plan was to be established in a career and have a family by age
35. Life should be an eternal adventure, but at age 28, it’s time for a person to consider growing
up! (Belsky, 2016, p. 295)
1. After reading the vignette about David above and reading pages 296-313 in the textbook,
identify 3 ways David is a typical emerging adult. For each characteristic identified provide
evidence from the textbook and connect it to David’s experience.
1.
2.
3.
2.Given what you know about David from the vignette above and based on the information
presented in the textbook (pages 305-308), would David be identified as a worker or a player?
Support your answer based on the inforamtion (research and David’s experience) presented in
the textbook.
3.Given David’s current situation (described in the vignette above) with work and his grappling
with finding a career, according to the textbook (pages 309-311), what 4 things would you
suggest David do that might help him gain clarity and movement regarding his decision. Be specific, complete, and descriptive regarding your suggestion based on your reading from the
textbook. Be sure to use your own words.
1.
2.
3.
4.
4.If David were to return to college, according to the textbook what are 6 things he could do to
increase the likelihood he will succeed? List and describe them and be sure to use your own
words.
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

6.