Throughout any teenagers’ life they
will have highs and lows that will determine whether or not they feel they have
the worst life possible or the best life possible. An online discussion began last week where
many high school teens discussed the best, worst, and most interesting parts of
being a teenager. With the help of these individuals an arguments has been created
about the worst parts of being a teenager.
According to Matthew Scott, 18-year-old man, “The worst part about being
a teenager is being treated like a child, when you have already grown up.” Matt
has an excellent point, teenagers grow into adulthood yet, their parents are
afraid to let them go, treating them as a child. When parents refuse to let
their child go they are forcing their child to be dependent on them for the
remainder of their life, something they will regret tremendously.
An example of teenagers being treated like a child is when parents have
their child call and check-in with them every time they decide to go somewhere.
Some parents’ arguments are that they are protecting their child and making
sure they are safe. While parents believe that this is healthy for their teen,
it builds resentment because they will feel as if they are being smothered and
treated as a child.
Brian Scheff, a junior in high schools, argues, “The worst part about
being a teenager is not knowing what you want in the future yet having to plan
for it.” Brian’s argument is one that so many youth today have to deal with.
Growing up a child will change what they want to be in life a multitude of
times before they even graduate high school. Even with entering college and
picking a major, an adult won’t be certain of what it is they want out of life,
so why should a teen have to choose?
People like Jasmine Grayson, a high school senior, have admitted how
planning for the future is a hard task when you do not know exactly what you
want in life. Jasmine originally wanted to be a veterinarian, then a
cardiologist, then a cardio-vascular thoracic surgeon, then a physical trainer,
then an occupational therapist, and then a Naval Officer. Planning for a future
is more complicated than people imagine because of some many things in the
environment that can affect a teen’s decision on what they want out of life.
In Erinn Fong’s, a Whitney Young High School Senior, opinion “The worst
part of being a teenager is knowing that it doesn’t last forever.” While teens
hanker for the chance to be an adult, internally they love the opportunity to
live rent-free without any major cares in the world. In the early years of
being a teen, the thought of growing up doesn’t tend to cross the youth’s mind
but as the final years before adulthood strikes youth tend to either dive in
head first or streak away in fear. Either path the youth chooses they still
understand that their youth is now gone.
Teens don’t look at aging as getting closer to not being a teen, they
look at the growing number as a journey to being able to do more things. The
connection is never made that once you become able to do all the things you
wanted, you are no longer a teen. Teens miss out on so many chances because
they are striving and longing for the chance to be a certain number.
Theresa Manney, a former teenager, now looks back over her teen years
and realizes had she known then that it was only temporary she would have done
better as a teen. No one realizes how important their teen years are until they
are gone and that is one of the reason that many people look back over those
years with the thoughts that they could have done so many things differently.
In the words of Taylor Embry, a teenager close to adulthood, “the worst
part about being a teenager is being surrounded by other teenagers that know
just as little about life as you do.” The problem with being surrounded by
people who know just as little as the next person is that one will actually
believe they are smarter than the other. While there are people who are quite knowledgeable
about certain things, no one person is an expert on life itself. When one
begins to think they understand life completely and hand out advice, a curve
ball is thrown and the foundation of their belief is cracked and falls through.
According to Jay Rehak, a former teenager, “the worst part about being a
teenager was the mood swings I felt.” Having mood swings in high school doesn’t
imply that the teen is depressed or mentally unstable it’s merely inevitable
for teens. Teens believe that every adult is against them pushing him or her
into a rant. Teens do not learn how to look for the good in situations, so when
good news comes but only with the accompaniment of bad news, the teen focuses
on the bad causing a mood swing.
Some parents and some adults do not believe that teens have anything to
worry about because of their age; teens everywhere beg to differ. Teens tend to
shy away from conversation that involve them having to discuss their beliefs on
life out of fear of rejection or belittlement. Being treated like a child,
being unsure of your future, realizing being a teen doesn’t last forever, being
surrounded by people who know so little about life, mood swings, rejection and
fear of belittlement are all some of the worst parts about being a teenager. The
purpose of this writing is to help adults peek into the brain of teens and see
what they believe are the worst parts about being a teenager.
