I never really managed to understand what the heck this 'maturity' really means. I go around checking out what various people think about it and, from the sheer variety of answers, I could come to only one conclusion. One thing that is common to ALL of them. One thing that EVERYONE thinks is mature. One thing that everyone would say, if they were being totally honest.
"IF a person behaves as I expect him to behave, he is mature"
That apart, there is not a thing that everyone seems to agree upon as being mature behavior. My own family assumed that, with maturity, children would grow up into good corporate wage slaves, make as much money as he could legitimately make, marry, have children, yada yada. I have reason to believe that the business classes thought of that as a sign of immaturity; that the kid would work off his childish rebellion working in one of those suited-booted companies before coming back and taking up the family business, after having matured. Of course, to go out in the 'real' world and do things, instead of poking around with books and computers at home was a sign of maturity. Till the likes of Gates, Zucky et al happened to the world.
Comes to social interactions, my own family looked down upon even loud voices as a sign of immaturity, leave alone nasty things like fisticuffs. I did not need to go around asking others what they felt of it. All that they needed to know was that I would hate to be seen shouting in public and they started the yelling match themselves. And I would concede merely to avoid being seen as an immature brawler. I'm afraid it did not make me feel very mature though.
Roughly speaking, I realized that the idea of mature behavior lay in the ability to control your emotions and direct them in a socially appropriate manner. Now, if only someone would teach me what that socially appropriate manner is...and keep that damn thing constant or changing slowly enough for me to keep track of it!
