Diurna Times

↳ Teenage Years

By: creative_maverick_Mo
Banner by: duskylilacs

TEENAGE YEARS

"We all have a bag. We all pack differently. Some of us are traveling light. Some of us are secret hoarders who've never parted with a memory in our lives. I think we are all called to figure out how to carry our bag to the best of our ability, how to unpack it, and how to face the mess. I think part of growing up is learning how to sit down on the floor with all your things and figuring out what to take with you and what to leave behind."
- Hannah Brencher

They say teenage years are supposed to be the best years of your life. You know, the years when you're allowed to do things with minimal consideration of their consequences. You're expected to create friendships that will last a lifetime, probably fall in love with someone, and have people depend on how daring and open minded you are. And then, right after all the 'adventures' of this period, you're expected to just get into the world and start acting like an adult. I think it's all just overrated bullshit. I think too much is expected from these teen years.

There's just too much pressure on us to do certain things at certain times. Parents and guardians tell us to live life by our own rules and at our own pace, but most of the time it feels like the world screams at us to do the exact opposite. I am very grateful that I have lived this long, but age 17 is not really the best teen year. I know teenage years basically feel like you're stuck between being a child and becoming an adult, but 17 feels like a whole different ball game. It's that phase in your life when you realise that you are edging closer to adulthood, but you haven't even fully mastered the art of being a child.

It's like you wake up on your seventeenth birthday and you're like, "Oh snap! I'm going to have to get my shit together and get a job soon, but I still want to relax and be taken care of." But you really are nowhere close to getting your shit together. I don't think we, teenagers, are the only ones confused about this phase in life. I think the adults are just as confused as we are. They don't know how to treat us. They tell us to speak our minds and make use of our voices and talents and explore and enjoy life, but the exact moment we do these things, they tell us to shut up and ask us what we know. They don't want to regard us as adults because they feel we aren't mature enough to be adults but at the same time they feel like we are too old to be treated like kids. So how exactly do you treat teenagers?

The answer to this question is not known to many. The thing about this teenage phase is that there is nothing like a one-size-fits-all-answer to anything. Especially not in this generation when sexuality has now become liquefied and the lines in fashion have become seriously blurred. Even psychologists don't know the answer to this question. I guess if anyone knew the answer to this question, we wouldn't be so confused about who we are or where we are supposed to be. But if we had all these answers, there would be no point to our journey. I think the purpose of our journey in life is to find out who we are, what we're supposed to be, and how we can make use of our talents, skills, and gifts to help others. Even though there's no manual as to how to go about this journey, a map to tell us where to start and where to finish or a guarantee that everyone who sets out to start this journey will complete it, I believe this topsy-turvy journey is a sweet ride to a dreamy future, and all we have to do is make sure we're trying our best at every damn time.

And we need to know that on some days, our best is going to be all about laying down on our beds all day and not feeling like socialising. And on others, it might be all about exceeding even your own expectations for yourself. This just means that like everyone else, you have your bad days and your good days. Understand that there is no rush in growing up. Adulthood isn't all it's made out to be, so don't wait till you become an adult before you start to enjoy life, because every stage in life has its own troubles. Remember you'll never be a teenager again, so why not just enjoy and appreciate every day of being just that right now?

So the next time anyone—and I mean anyone—makes a rash comment about how much of a teenager you're being because you don't feel like talking or getting out of bed early, don't feel insulted or offended. Instead smile at them and ride the wave of that moment because even though you're not an adult yet, you know that a time will come when you'll look back at your teen years and you'll think 'what a time to have been alive!'