Personally, I believe everyone matures at a different rate and at a different age. At 16 I got my first job and worked 20 hours every week until I finished HS when I got a full time job. I also helped my mother take care of my grandmother. I always had a B+ or better average in school as well. I wasn't perfect but I was a lot more mature than my friends who skipped school and partied all the time. In fact of my HS group of friends I am one of the few who has not been divorced already. My HS boyfriend and I are now married and still going strong, 14 years are meeting.