During a strenuous trek in the mountains, a teenager dies of starvation. A girl wearing an elegant dress completes a dance with her father. Both of these things come from rites of passage. Why are they so different? Rites of passage are almost as diverse and widespread as individual cultures. Depending on cultural values, initiation into adulthood varies enormously. Arguably all rites of passage begin with the same purpose. The goal is to bring the child to adulthood. However, the process could be redundant or even harmful. Some rites of passage should continue to be practiced, such as the Quinceañera and Bar Mitzvah, because they have strong benefits and cultural value while others, such as hazing and cutting, should not because they can harm and possibly kill people. The Quinceañera, which turns a twenty-year-old Latin girl into a woman's 15th birthday, is important and should continue to be practiced because it contains strong cultural values. These cultural values ​​along with messages about faith and sexuality are some beneficial outcomes of the Quinceañera. Ultimately, these benefits make the event worth the cost. For example, in On La Quinceañera, Jan Risher says, “The Reyes family said it was worth it, even if they are only now starting to save for college” (2). This is an example of a person who was satisfied with these results. While some argue that the Quinceañera is too extravagant and expensive to be a rite of passage, the fact is that the actual benefits last a lifetime. For example, in On La Quinceañera, Risher says, “Sometimes a defining point, even a choreographic one, helps drive home the fact of one's place in the world” (2). This is a great example of one of the long-term benefits of this ritual or… middle of paper… out of the Pass, says Smith-Spark, “Professor Mtuze said it was a problem for many kids was that they had lost touch with the ideas behind the rites. This meant that they competed to be the first to reach adulthood and considered anyone who admitted pain to be weak” (2). it is not worth practicing this ritual passage as there are many things that could go wrong. As you can see, there are many different things that could happen with rites of passage. From the single goal of turning a child into an adult, there are many ways to expand Some of these branches cause harm and others provide many benefits. That is why it is not possible to decide whether rites of passage in general should continue to be practiced. But in the end, most adults would not be true adults if it were not for rites of passage.