Teenagers

Adolescents, more commonly referred to as teenagers, are the future of our countries and we should be excited about it! Well, at least, that's what about half of the adult population believes. The other half tend to lean towards the, “Teenagers are awful scumbags just waiting to kill their parents!” Hmm, I don't think I agree with either of those analysis'. And I am a teenager, so my opinion has to count for something right?

Before the term “adolescence” was coined, there was a “rite of passage” ceremony, or some other service that distinguished childhood from adulthood. The moment the child became and adult, they had responsibilities they had to take care of, possibly even a wife or husband that needed attention, there was no room for the drama that is teenage-hood now.

Teenagers are always thinking of the questions, “Who am I? What am I good for?” If a teen doesn't think that they are good for anything, they probably will tend to lean towards suicide as a better option than existence. I'm sure that is why suicide is one of the leading causes of death between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one. Who am I? A question seemingly easy to most adults, I am a farmer, I am an accountant, I am a beautician, I am a mom. Teens don't have such an easy answer, we don't have careers to define us, we have our school year. I am a sophomore, I am a junior, a senior? Or even, I am a McDonald's hamburger flipper. I don't think so. It's not the same. There are so many high school students, we all just kind of flow together. That's where cliques and dressing come in.

Cliques are a way of telling us who we are. They give us rules to follow, standards, a certain way to speak, dress, etc. To us, not everyone appears to be in our clique and so we feel significant, different from everyone else. Like we have a purpose, and that someone cares about us. The way we dress is a good indication of what kind of clique we are in, and/or the way we wish other people to see us in the world.

Teens need to feel love and acceptance from those around them. Parents, teachers, church leaders, friends, extended family, it all matters. There is unconditional love which we must receive from our parents and extended family, though we know and feel a certain responsibility when it comes to having love and trust from teachers, classmates and religious teachers. Responsibility and trust are very important at this age because if we don't feel we are given enough trust or independence we feel inadequate, stupid, worthless, etc. Then again, we also are still kids, we don't like to have mounds of responsibility thrown upon us. We need an adults help when we get into sticky situations, but I'd suggest to parents, that you allowed us to come to you for help, instead of you coming to us. We tend to have a similar way of thinking as a three year old, we feel hurt when we aren't allowed to try and figure out messes ourselves. If you feel the adolescent needs your help, kindly ask them if they'd like it, and if they don't, back off for a few days. If they solve the problem on their own, that's fantastic! If they don't, casually mention it in a private setting so that they feel comfortable talking with you if that's their desire.

Teens are not going to fix their countries problems any more than adults can now. Yes, we are the future of our country, yes we care, but no, we're unlikely to fix problems that have lasted thirty plus years. Then again, we aren't dirt bags, we aren't all a bunch of kids running around on the weekends aiming to get drunk or stoned. The reality is, the only reason why most of the population believes that's how we are is because those are the kind of teens you see on the news. You're never going to hear about an average teen who got a 3.4 GPA, you're only going to hear about the ones that throw turkeys out of windows on the freeway, you're only going to hear about the ones that do community service, play an instrument, sing, act AND maintain a 4.0 GPA. To tell you the truth, we're not like that. Some, but very few, are like that. We're kids, we want to have fun, we love life, we do our best in things we care about, but that's all. We want you to respect us, let us have some freedom with responsibility. Don't treat us like we're imbeciles or even like we're going to change the world, because most likely, we're not.