I once interviewed Cletus the Foetus for a university newspaper. When I asked him about his philosophy and his local notoriety as a card-carrying Satanist, he chose to describe his approach as "contrarian".
This was about 4-5 years ago. I was a much quieter person back in the day.
But something is changing in the past few months, and I feel myself growing closer to being what Cletus has described: contrarian.
Meaning (and this is my interpretation, not necessarily what he intended):
I enjoy debating now. Sometimes, I like debating the other side of someone's argument just because I like to have fun with the other person and get a challenge going! But I also like to ask questions and get the clearest idea of what they believe. I can't settle with surface anymore.
I am also developing a much more reduced tolerance for the bullshit of others, and I am learning how to not get inundated in it to the point where I lose myself in there.
Now, I say this is a new thing, but mostly in the outward manifestation. I have always been a skeptic, a questioner, a debater. I made for a poor sunday school pupil, for example! I annoyed teachers with my questions. I still cannot align myself too much with any creed or religion.
But school and adolescence made me retain that inwardly. I started just going along with the opinions and suggestions of others, whether I really believed in what I was doing or not. Lots of kids go through that. There are always the wonderful, brave, composed ones who get through without ever compromising, but most kids choose being liked over being themselves.
Not anymore.
And I think this is what is meant, in part, with the concept of "growing up".