Coming of age

It’s perhaps the biggest birthday any of us ever have.

Eighteen. The threshold between youth and young adulthood. The end of adolescence and the start of seniority. The marker that means you can drive, vote and not be stopped at the cinema because you’re not old enough to watch certain movies. But it’s also the age when you can no longer get away with not doing your fair share of the household chores. Or tidying your room.

Some may say this age is the most paradoxical of lines in the sand: whichever side you stand, you almost always wish it was the other.

But not here at Friday.

For 18 is surely nothing if not the beginning of the best years of your life. It is to stand on the edge of your own world and look out across a landscape of possibilities stretched before you.

And so to celebrate the fact we’ve achieved this anniversary – a remarkable age for a magazine – we spoke to seven young adults who were born the same year as us, and asked them about their hopes, aspirations and experiences growing up in the UAE in the early 21st century...

Rhea Das turned 18 this month, lives in Bur Dubai, and is from India

The one thing I dream of above everything else is travelling the world. There are so many places I want to see now I’m 18: Australia, New Zealand, Cape Town, all of Europe, more of India. I want to experience different places and different people. I want to see everything that’s out there.

Before any of that, I’ll go to university in September. I want to study business at the American University of Sharjah but I’m still waiting on my school results for confirmation.

I’m undecided about what I’d like to do for a living. I’m quite an indecisive person in general. But being an accountant would be cool. That’s what both my parents do so it runs in the family, I guess.

Actually, I still feel kind of young to be making those decisions. I know turning 18 is all about growing up and being mature. But that can be scary. I don’t feel like an adult. I’m not one of those girls who dresses up or tries to act older. I’m just me.

Growing up in Dubai has been great. We have everything here. And it’s safe – I can go and meet friends without my parents worrying. That’s important. The heat in the summer can be tough but you cope.

I do want to live somewhere else over the next few years but eventually I’d like to come back. I was born here and it feels like home.

Isza Parchini will be 18 in November, lives in Al Ain, and is from the US

I’m still going to be me.

My parents already give me a lot of freedom to make my own decisions so it’s not like I’m suddenly going to have lots more responsibilities.

More important for me is starting university in September. I’m moving to Utrecht in the Netherlands to study communications media. I can’t wait.

I’ve been in the UAE for five years now and it’s been amazing growing up here – you go to school with 50 other nationalities and it gives you a whole new perspective on the world – but I’m looking forward to moving too. It’s a new adventure.

Eventually I’d like to do something that promotes humanitarian and environmental causes. And one day I do think I’ll come back to the UAE. I love Al Ain. It’s so calm and relaxed. I prefer it to America. This feels like my home now.

Osman Jouejati will be 18 in October, lives in Al Mamzar, and is from Syria

Football is my passion. When I’m 18, I want to turn pro. I know that won’t be easy but it’s my dream. I’m working hard to make it happen. If I could have one wish on my birthday, that would be it.

Even though I’m Syrian and I’ve been in the UAE 12 years, I was born in the US and lived there until I was six so I have an American passport and that’s where I’ll hopefully go to college. You play football and study at the same time with a view to eventually turning pro if you’re good enough. I’ll miss my friends and my family lots when I leave, of course. But that’s what being 18 is about, I think. Making your own way in the world.

What else do I want to achieve? I’d like to run my own sports business, have a family, do charity work. One day, I want to see Damascus again and walk its streets, and see my cousins who still live there. I want Syria to be OK. But most of all, I just want to make my parents proud.

Priyanjali Guha turned 18 in March, lives in Bur Dubai, and is from India

When people get excited about turning 18, it’s always because it means they can drive or watch certain movies or, in India, vote. But I think it means more than that.

I think your parents’ expectations are raised – and that’s how it should be. You’re not a kid any more and you shouldn’t be acting like one. You should lead by example.

In any case, the most important thing for me, now, is to make my future as bright as possible.

I’ve left school and I’m going back to India – we moved to Dubai when I was seven – to study design in September.

Iqra Bukhari will be 18 in November, lives in Al Ain, and is from the UK

Turning 18 means being able to go to concerts, which is a big deal for me. I love music – I play guitar and I’ve been to festivals back in the UK – so not being able to go and see gigs out here because I’m too young can be annoying.

I don’t think that being 18 is such a huge deal. It’s just another part of growing up.

Rohan Mahesh will be 18 in November, lives in Mirdif, and is from India

My dream is to become a pilot – and that’s because of Dubai. My parents moved here when I was a baby and I’ve grown up seeing planes overhead. They’ve fascinated me for as long as I can remember and so one day I want to be the one up in the cockpit. Who would I like to work for? Emirates, of course.

Dubai’s shaped me in more ways than just that, though. The Metro means you have freedom to get around while the fact it’s safe means you can enjoy a life free of fear. I couldn’t imagine growing up anywhere else. I love the place.

Having said that, once I’m 18, I’ll hopefully go to university in India next year to study mechanics. I want to reconnect with my family’s roots, live in my own land. It feels like something I should do.

I’ve become a bit more concerned about my appearance now I’m older. I love food and eating out but I think once you’re in your late teens you need to watch your weight a bit more. Growing older means having to go to the gym, I think.

Angela D’costa turned 18 in January, lives in Mirdif, and is from India

It’s kind of a contradiction, turning 18. On the one hand my parents keep telling me I’m an adult and have responsibilities. But they still treat me like a child. They want me to be home by a certain time and they’re very protective. But that’s understandable.

I’d like to move to New York. I like Dubai. It’s very fast-paced and a great place to grow up. But the thought of being in New York excites me. I’ve always loved the arts so I’d like to live near Broadway and go to concerts and browse all the galleries and museums there.

Career-wise, I’d like to become a financial analyst. That’s not just number-crunching. It’s working with people to help their business grow. I like helping people. I’m majoring in finance at the American University of Sharjah so hopefully I can make that happen.