Y!A - What does "growing up" exactly mean ?

Question asked originally on Yahoo! Answers - Original Link

My answer:

Growing up can mean different things for different people.
Not all of them are positive.

Some people for example think that going out and getting drunk with your friends shows that you're a grown up.

Here's what it means to me however:

You've grown up when you become unaffected by peer pressure. That is, you don't do things just so you will be accepted by others.

You've grown up when you have your own thoughts. That is, you think instead of letting others think for you. You don't accept people's opinions just because they say so.

You've grown up when you're fully accountable for your actions. That is, you're able to acknowledge not only your qualities but also your flaws. You're able to take responsibility when you make a mistake.

You've grown up when you accept that pain is part of life. That is, you don't spend your entire life trying not to get hurt. And when you do get hurt you don't start crying and asking why the world did this to you but instead trying to understand and learn from what happened.

You've grown up when you're able to learn from mistakes. That is, you don't make the same mistakes over and over again, and when you see someone else, you learn from their mistake instead of repeating it.

You've grown up when you understand that the world is made of other people just like you. That is, do you like when someone hurts you? You shouldn't, so you don't go around hurting other people either. If everyone helps everyone else everyone wins more than if everyone try to live each for their own good.

You've grown up when you stop being controlled by your emotions and start to control them instead. You don't get angry, afraid, sad, happy, excited, etc, for the wrong reasons. You don't let unjustified insults ruin your day and you don't let unjustified praises make you feel good.

You've grown up when you accept that someday you're going to die, and so will everyone else. Some people, until their last breath desperately try to live even when they know that their time has come. Others become extremely depressed when someone close to them dies. Get over it, nobody lives forever, either they will die before you or you will die before them.

Finally, you've grown up when you understand that happiness cannot be bought with objects, maybe comfort, but not happiness. Anything you can think of that can be taken away in a single moment should not be a source of happiness because you're eventually gonna get hurt by thinking they are sources of happiness. No matter how much money you have, you can lose all of it in a moment. If you're pretty you can find yourself in a fire and have your beauty burned away. If you have a mansion, an earthquake or an arson can take it away. If you have 100 cars, robbers can come and take them all away.

What should make you happy?

That answer I'll leave for you to find out, when you find the right answer you will know that you've grown up.

EDIT:
I can tell you one thing:

I know almost no "grown ups." People are mostly oversize children who think they grew up because they have hair on their pubes, because they can get drunk whenever they want, because they can have sex, because they have money in their wallet, because they moved out of their parent's house.

You don't need to be old to be grown up.
You don't need to get drunk or do something stupid to be grown up.
You don't need sex to be grown up.
You don't need money to be grown up.
You don't need your own house to be grown up.

If anyone thinks or tells you otherwise, they're still a child.

EDIT#2:
People don't grow up unconsciously, it's a choice, probably the hardest one a person can make.