I was what my elders might call a late bloomer. I finished college about a year into the 2008 financial crisis,

so instead of spending those first months post-college adjusting to my new job, new city, and new apartment,

I was sleeping on a futon in the living room of my sister's apartment, working part-time at the Nordstrom

and Pentagon City Mall. And that was before I moved back in with my parents. You could say I was down

bad. And today, young adults are also struggling to reach many traditional markers of adulthood,

from moving out and getting a job to marrying and having children.

In 1975, almost half of 25 to 34-year-olds had experienced all four of these milestones.

But today, we're looking at less than a quarter of American adults in that age range, having

met all four.

It's harder to find a job that pays a living wage in today's economy compared to 1975.

That's Nancy Hill, professor of education and developmental psychologist at Harvard University.

When you think about the five markers that you listed, getting a job and finishing one's

education are almost prerequisites for the other

three, which is finding a life partner, moving out and finding your own place and having kids.

And there's a lot of research that shows that young people don't want to embark on those other

aspects of adulthood until they have a secure financial source.

But when I reflect on my own failure to launch era, I grew in other ways.

I coached a competition-winning girls sports team.

I visited my college friends in their hometowns.

And I even took over all the cooking duties at my parents' house.

Well, it's so interesting that maturity, which is like an inner state, is so linked to these material milestones.

That's Catherine Jaser Morton, writer for New York Magazine and The Cut.

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