Can someone tell me whether or not I’m an adult?

Here’s what I know:

At 18, I’m told I am an adult. I can vote for the leaders who run this country. I can be drafted or enlist in the military and die for it. I can get married, sign contracts, pay taxes, and be tried in court like any other adult.

But then suddenly, I’m told I’m not adult enough. I can’t rent a hotel room in many places — even for my honeymoon. I can’t buy a beer. I can’t buy a cigarette or a vape. In some states, I can’t even own certain firearms. I can’t rent a car without paying ridiculous fees until 25.

So which is it? Am I an adult, or am I not?

Because here’s the truth: the responsibilities I’m handed at 18 — voting, marriage, military service, contracts, prison sentences — those require far more maturity than drinking a beer or checking into a hotel. Yet society trusts me with the harder things and withholds the smaller ones.

I’m 18. I’m living this contradiction every day. So tell me… what am I?