In the United States, your 18th birthday bestows legal adulthood — and with it, a dizzying array of new responsibilities, including managing one’s own finances and understanding newly acquired legal rights. Along with the array of better-known liberties, there are a variety of slightly more obscure — but, in some cases, extremely important — things you can do at 18, which are chronicled below.
While various rights are marked by one’s 18th birthday, the jury is still out on the neuroscientific basis for this age. “It has been shown that the prefrontal cortex in humans is actively changing and developing into one’s 20s and maybe 30s,” neuroscience teacher Hannah Graham said. “[This] may be a major focus of arguments for not allowing adolescents to join the military, or drink, or vote or buy cigarettes before [age] 18 or 21.”
Despite the lack of scientific evidence as to an 18-year-old’s neurological aptitude, the U.S. government continues to confer certain privileges to individuals when they turn 18. And thus, individuals over the age of 18 — whether seasoned adults or, like myself, newly of age — are able to participate in the following activities.
I: Purchase lottery tickets
With your still-developing prefrontal cortex, you may also engage in financial gambles through purchasing lottery tickets. For this article, I purchased a California Powerball ticket, offering a roughly one-in-292.2 million chance of winning around $1.2 billion. Unfortunately, I lost all six dollars I spent on three chances to win, though perhaps I simply need to double down and win back my earnings with another ticket. Unfortunately, some Urban students shared my luck.
“I bought a lottery ticket on my birthday. I didn’t win anything,” Talula Rogers ’26 said.
II: Get ordained
If you plan on getting married in the U.S., you’re going to need an ordained minister present (in most states, at least). A minister serves as the government’s first witness to the marriage and can confirm its legal validity. In addition to being over the age of 18, to legally become an ordained minister yourself, you need to be confirmed by a recognized religious body. This could entail years of dedication and service towards becoming an ordained minister of a major religion, such as a priest, rabbi or imam. Or, it could entail filling out a 30-second form from an organization such as the Universal Life Church certifying your ordainment. Due to time constraints, I opted for the latter — although apparently I also needed a couple to agree to marry before I could exercise my newfound abilities.
“The person who ordain[ed] my wedding was a very close friend,” said Josie Rodberg, history department chair and history teacher. “What I think is very meaningful about the fact that ordinary people like yourself can get ordained is that you can officiate the wedding of people you really care about and love.”
III: Use rideshare apps
For legal reasons, rideshare apps such as Uber and Waymo require users to be over the age of 18 to use their services without an accompanying adult. I embarked upon a Lyft ride, in which my driver discussed her various political leanings and we agreed on a psychic rendezvous the next morning — it’s safe to say it was a good deal more spiritual than my typical commute.
These companies attempt to prohibit underage people from accessing their apps through completely foolproof protections, including a check box agreement and honor system.
“As a minor, I would never … use a rideshare app without verifying my identity,” Andrew Yost-Brody ’26 said.
IV: Sign petitions
You can often find petitioners outside of grocery stores or similar places of public congregation asking if you’re 18 and registered to vote. Outside my local Safeway, a man presented me with six petitions relating to increased ease of home buying, higher taxes on millionaires and capping of healthcare CEO salaries. With every petition the man handed me, he said, “Here’s another good one.”
V: Write your will
Once 18, you can legally decide where your various assets will go in the case of your demise. There are two ways in which you can go about this. The first, a notarized will, requires a signed notary — a person granted legal authority to certify documents (another appointment you can achieve at 18). The second option, which I opted for due to a lack of notaries on the Urban Legend staff, only requires willing witnesses. Known as a revocable living trust, this route entails asset management documents that can be rescinded at any time as long as you are alive and sound of mind. The document goes into effect immediately in the event of your death.
VI: Obtain firearms safety certification
In California, you can take a test to obtain what is known as a firearms safety certification, a prerequisite to owning or legally operating a firearm. Though I was unable to obtain this certification due to my lack of a valid California ID (I have yet to obtain a driver’s license), I got a preview of the firearms safety certification test’s content from various online study guides. The test features 30 challenging questions such as “Where should you point a gun?” with the options: “Away from yourself,” “Towards yourself,” “Towards the sky,” and “In the safest possible direction.” You need a score of 75% to pass, at which point you can legally purchase a gun. It is worth noting that California has some of the nation’s strictest gun laws.
“It makes me uncomfortable,” Jean-Paul Calegari ’26 said. “I would not trust many of my peers to buy a firearm at 18.”
VII: Purchase spray paint
Spray paint is part of a group of items that California has deemed illegal for minors to purchase. In the case of spray paint, the state of California is most concerned with the defacement of public property and the inhalation of chemical fumes, which are hazardous to lung health. Prospective spray paint buyers should note that the cashier may look exceptionally disappointed — and perhaps a bit concerned — when selling it to you.
However, some doubt the efficacy of the law. “There’s the implication that only minors will vandalize, which I don’t believe is particularly effective as a lawmaking practice because minors are perfectly able to obtain spray paint and non-minors are capable of vandalism,” Mason Hoyt ’26 said.
Disclaimer: The spray paint I purchased for this article was given to a friend for an art project. The item was not involved in any defacement of public property. I was not, nor any other party, subject to toxic fume inhalation as a result of the cans.
VIII: Join the Selective Services
Within 30 days of turning 18, all male U.S. citizens — including those residing in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam — are required to join the Selective Services, a database the government uses to recruit individuals to the armed services in case of a draft. While joining the Selective Services is mandatory, it is by no means binding — the armed services will exercise their discretion as it is related to various physical and mental standards when selecting candidates from the random pool. Failure to register is a federal felony, though the government rarely prosecutes to the fullest extent of the law, which would entail up to five years imprisonment and a quarter-million dollar fine. More common penalties include being rendered ineligible for federal loans and jobs. In order to avoid any possible charges, I registered the day after my 18th.
However, not everyone knows about the requirement. “I had no clue,” Rio Cruz Hunt ’26 said. “I have Mexican citizenship, so if I get drafted I’ll just dip.”
IX: Make independent healthcare decisions
As a legal adult, you are granted full authority over medical decision making, including whether to undergo various medical procedures. Before 18, your guardian can access your records; upon turning 18 everyone else is prevented from viewing your records without your consent. This means you are responsible for scheduling yearly physicals and other appointments, which may prove mildly problematic for those with limited memory and calendar skills.
“My parents don’t have access to my medical records anymore,” Rogers said. “So that’s fun.”
X: Get a tattoo
Turning 18 also grants bodily autonomy in a less clinical — though hopefully still sanitary — setting: getting a tattoo. “I’d been wanting [a tattoo] for a while, and I just needed the permission from my dad,” Anthony Larkin ’26 said. “Right when I turned 18, that’s when I really pushed for the idea.”
XI: Obtain a driving learner’s permit with ease
It is not entirely clear why being above 18 years of age would confer the knowledge conveyed in a driver’s education course, but nonetheless, those aged 18 and older are legally exempt from going through the mandatory 20-hour training to obtain a driving learner’s permit. The permit’s restrictions apply no matter the holder’s age, but once you obtain your driver’s license, there are no time- or passenger-specific restrictions.
Some, however, question the logic behind the easing of restriction. “I think the permit restrictions make sense, because for the year after you get your permit you’re still getting used to driving,” Nela Sutherland ’26 said. “I feel like, realistically, not much changes from 16 to 18. … The restrictions should be that way until age 25.”
XII: Go to court as a legal adult
Being over the age of 18 gives you an array of abilities in the courtroom, such as suing people or organizations. It also opens you to the possibility of being charged as an adult, which generally carries harsher punishments and lower mandatory minimum sentences. However, depending on the nature and severity of your crime, you can be charged as an adult even under the age of 18; in California, for example, anyone as young as 16 can be prosecuted as an adult if they are involved in gun felonies or various violent crimes. It is important to note much of this is at the discretion of the judge and that the age varies by state. The youngest person ever to be prosecuted as an adult was a 12-year-old in Florida.
XIII: Make a list of all the things you can do once you’re 18
At the age of 18 — provided you’re a writer for a school newspaper or similar publication — you can write an article for your peers about all the things they can do after they’ve achieved 216 months on this earth.