Maturity-Insult or Compliment?

Over time I’ve realised that most adults seem to be caught up with the idea that calling a student or younger fellar “mature” is a compliment. Likewise saying one is childish carries with it much negativity. The question I think that needs to be addressed is more “how is maturity, linked to anything specifically desirable?” The common context for the usage of one being mature would be as praise to distinguish that young person from his surrounding peers. The usage of maturity holds much ambiguity. It doesn’t exactly suggests mental maturity, as in the ability to think things out clearly. It doesn’t suggest that a person has reached a point in which he can understand people around him either, and thus make the best judgement in relation to his human-social environment either. Instead it seems to suggest just the lack of “pranks”. Considering this, than, being praised as mature becomes rather shallow. In fact it would suggest that “mature” shouldn’t even be used as praise. Instead a whole bunch of older people seemed to have had conferred more privilege upon the word than it originally was given. However thinking about it, should one take pride in being called “mature” than? It seems often enough young people do seem to relish being told they’re mature. They seem to think they’ve done one up on their peers. However, I come to think of it this way: Am I being called mature, because my ideas have led to better things? Have I in anyway affected something through my difference in behaviour/ thought that has led something noteworthy? Or am I being called mature because my behaviour is in line with the evaluators ideas of what proper behaviour should be? If I happen to fall in the third category, I’d like to think more often than not, being told that I’m mature is more an insult than praise. It could just mean I am incapable of much originality. In fact its this warped satisfaction of youth in being told that they’re matured, and some seem to go out of their way to live up to this notion of maturity, that contributes partly and surely, to the dearth of expression and to the rigidness which plaques of society. But this is me. Its very much natural for me to enjoy the “immature” antics that I pull off. Its very much like me, to goad somebody else in to trying to better the imaginary score that is kept. The thrill, the excitement, the fun. Yes there are consequences, but never too much to handle. At least at the end of it all, I can say I have experienced, I have tried, and more often than not, I had fun. Now, I start to thing that perhaps maturity really is just about being miserable and proper. In modern times people mock and berate the puritans of his time, for not enjoying themselves, for being all proper. I think the “matured” people of our time, is simply the new guise for the puritans. Do we not reward their egoes for their righteousness?