Teenagers

To be honest I think being a teenager can be hard but I agree with the girl above it can be hard to be an adult too and you are always going to have certain aspects of your life that you might not like or you might find hard to cope with.

To be honest, i think being a teenager is hard. Its the time in your life where you shape yourself for being an adult, and you begin to form opinions on things and stuff like that. Plus there is all the bullying and steryotypes a lot of kids have to face.

I know from experiance how hard being a teenager is, and i've only been one for 2 years. When i turned 13 is when i began liking rock music, and people began bullying me because of it. And then the depression started. I've got a friend who had sex with her best friends older brother and became an outcast. Another one who was raped when she was ten, cuts and has tried to kill herself mulitple times. And a few others who are suicidle. I mean thats a lot for a 14-year-old girl to handle, as well as her own problems.

As well as those other things, your faced with the real world. Drugs, sex, violence. It just gets harder for you because no one can protect you from this stuff like they did when you were younger.

So basically, yeah, it is hard being a teenager.
Ok i'm done now

i agree with the fact that being a teenager is hard, especially after you turn 16, with leaving school, having more responsibilities etc. etc. but at the same time i enjoy being a teenager, like you get more freedom then when you were a child and you get to experience alot more,these past 3 and a half years have been really interesting for me and i have really discovered alot about myself.

I feel bad for teenagers these days. I use to be one..and it was hard then, but I think its harder now.
I think you really should do your best to just be yourself though. Even though it may be hard to deal with some people. You will be able to look back when your'e older and be proud that you did not change for ANYONE.
Trust me..I am only 28, but proud of who I am. There were these little brat girls I use to hang out with, and they are not too successful in the friends department these days. I have a lot, but there are only a few that I CAN PICK to be my true friends.
If you stay true to yourself, you will get to PICK as well.

Mindfuck:

I think that life in general is tough, and every stage of your life - whether you're 15, 25, 40, 70, whatever - is going to have ups and downs, hardships, troubles. All that jazz.

It's hard being a teen, but it's hard being an adult.

I agree.

Some people think that every adult knows who they are, what they are doing in life.
The majority don't.
It's as if becoming an adult means that your life is all figured out.
Sure, teenagers have to deal with stresses, but so do adults.
Adults have to date too. Adults can also cut. Adults have to battle with drug related problems.

Being an adult doesn't mean all your teenage problems go away.

Hmm..well I'm a teenager and not exactly loving it..
I can't argue the adult/teenager which is harder debate really because, obviously, I don't know what it feels like to be an adult. But from other people's opinions I've gathered that a lot of people prefer their adult years to their teenage ones. Not sure, I guess it really depends on the person and the circustances.

As for the appearance thing, I wish it didn't matter so much but, especially with teenagers, it really seems to. I guess it's really kinda like money. It's just pieces of paper. Neither of these things are meaningless but for the power they give us in life.

Lovesick Melody.:

I agree.

Some people think that every adult knows who they are, what they are doing in life.
The majority don't.
It's as if becoming an adult means that your life is all figured out.
Sure, teenagers have to deal with stresses, but so do adults.
Adults have to date too. Adults can also cut. Adults have to battle with drug related problems.

Being an adult doesn't mean all your teenage problems go away.

I wouldn't say quite the majority..but otherwise I agree with you.

^^ I would. I'm a college grad so far removed from my intended field, I have no idea how I got here. Hubs majored in secondary English education and Philosophy, and is head of an engineering department. My best friend worked odd jobs her entire life and is using her retirement to teach belly dance. I don't know anyone other than comic artists who are actually doing what they "want" to be doing.

When I was a teenager I wanted to either be a newscaster or work as a PR consultant for a non-profit. I'm an extended day coordinator/summer camp director. How the hell did I get here? I have no idea. But being an adult means I can't throw a temper tantrum and storm off the job because it isn't what I want to do. I have to deal and make the best of it.

I'd be willing to say the majority of us *don't* have it figured out, and probably never will. And I'm not saying being a teenager is being better than being an adult, or vice versa. I'm saying enjoy it while you can, your adult years are much longer than your teenage ones.

psychochip:

I'm saying enjoy it while you can, your adult years are much longer than your teenage ones.

i completely agree with you, im 16 and it only seems like yesterday it was my 13th birthday and in less then 2 years i'll be 18 which means i'll be legally an adult so i'll have more responsibilities and whatnot, it just proves how quick your teen years go

psychochip:

I'd be willing to say the majority of us *don't* have it figured out, and probably never will. And I'm not saying being a teenager is being better than being an adult, or vice versa. I'm saying enjoy it while you can, your adult years are much longer than your teenage ones.

Oh yeah, I am SO with you on that one. It really grinds my gears when I hear a bunch of teenagers whining about how hard they've got it... I just want to take them by the shoulders, shake them so hard their teeth rattle right out of their heads, and scream 'Don't you GET it?! It doesn't get any easier - it gets HARDER! Enjoy what you have now and forget all the bullshit, cuz trust me, it gets so much worse than kids picking on you for what you wear or who you have a crush on! Gaaaahhhhh!!!!'
I thought, at 14, that I knew exactly what I was going to do with my life. I figured that at 18, I'd be legal, I could do whatever I wanted, people would start taking me seriously instead of dismissing me with, 'Oh, you're just a kid, what the hell do you know?'. I thought I'd move out of home, go to university, get a rad job, make a lot of money, etc etc.
Nothing turned out like I had planned.
Not that I'm complaining, I love my life, but it is a LOT more complicated than my teenage years.
At the end of the day, like you said Tabs, once you're an adult you just have to deal with whatever gets thrown at you, whether it's what you wanted or not. You can't throw a tantrum and walk out of your job because you've got bills to pay, you might have moved 200 miles away from your parents and you can't go running back to them every time you have a bad day and need a shoulder to cry on...
Being a teenager is hard, I don't deny that, but being an adult is whole different ball game, and definitely not easy. And kids are so sure that once they hit that magic number, whether it be 18 or 21, everything will magically fall into place and they'll be where they always dreamed of being. As you said, life rarely works out the way you planned, and a huge number of us will never, ever realise our teenage dreams. That's not to say we're all miserable, it's just that the goal-posts are constantly shifting and you have to just keep running with the ball, rather than dropping it and giving up.

It's a long time since I was a teenager but I do remember what it was like. Reading the posts in this thread it doesn't look like things have changed very much anyway. People had their own little cliques back then too and anyone who was in any way different would be picked on. I used to get picked on because I've got red hair, and no matter how much you try to kid yourself that you're not gonna let it get to you, it does. Stuff like that stays with you your whole life. I'm quite an outgoing person anyway but there's things I would love to do now but I won't because I worry too much what other people will think. That said, I think it's a lot harder for teenagers now than it was when I was one. The world is not such a nice place anymore with all the drugs and violence and lack of respect for people.
Just on a personal note. There are a lot of teenagers out there who could give some adults lessons on how to behave.

^^ We're actually about 450 miles away from our parents, on purpose.
/spam

I love the goalpost analogy though; it is absolutely perfect. But I will warn you guys that sometimes, when that goalpost moves, it moves farther away too. But you have to keep plugging on because you'll make it eventually.

No it's true. Recently i've had loadsa times when it would have been a really bad idea to take in what other people thought. Its your life, as long as youre not out to get anyone, or hurting anyone really unnecessarily then do what you like. Your life is your own, so live it
x

But then there is the argument that, since we've been through those problems and have more experience, we are trying to help you understand that this problem that you have rightthisminute is, in the long run, not as bad as you think. I think that there are adults who might blow it off and say outright that "Oh, it's not all that bad, wait until you're an adult and have 'real' problems" but those are adults that forget what it's like to be a teenager and to have this problem that your mind is unable to fathom. Maturity and understanding come with time and experience. Adults should be helping teens work through their problems and give them tools to succeed rather than brushing them off.

I'll admit, there are days I go into the Personal Questions forum and think, "Man, I wish that were the worst of my problems!" because I see questions about things that, to me, are several stages below my maturity level. But then I have to remember I'm 30 and judging a question posted by a 14 or 15 year old, and remember back to when I was that age, and I think, "Wow, you know, that really was something I would have been concerned about back then" and it puts me back in a more understanding mindset. A lot of adults, especially ones who don't work with kids or don't have kids, set that stuff aside and say that it's not important. Then you've got a situation like Columbine, where the adults didn't listen so the teens went off the deep end. I'm not saying every teen will do that but the rash of school shootings shows that the mindset is there and very real. If we, as adults, don't give teens the tools to deal with their problems, if we poo-poo the issue without giving it credibility, if we ignore warning signs and just say, "Oh, boys will be boys," or "Oh, she just has a crush, it's puppy love, it'll wear off" we may very well be cleaning up another school, or burying another suicide, and standing around wringing our hands saying "why why why" when the answer was in our faces all along.

my opinion is to just ignore it. because at the end of the day you are yourself. and it helps to show that. From the very beginning of school to high school i was bullied but i guess that showed me how to really show my true colours. I wear what i want. have what make up I want and bascially i have got my friends out of it. and we work together to just ignore the people who think its funny to make fun of you. Ignoring it isnt giving up and making them feel good. Yeah, it makes them feel tough but only for a little bit. they soon realise that you aren't taking any notice. I have seen people change so they wont get taunted but that's what is giving in. be yourself and feel good about it i have got far in life letting myself be myself and i really don't care if people find me ugly i just live with it because i have to. but i make the most of it. xxxx

I think it all depends on how you have decided to live your life. If you decide that everything is going to be hard and unhappy and that you're not going to enjoy then that's what it will be. Every stage of life is hard and there are always obstacles, but you have to make the choice to get the most out of life and to enjoy it. Yeah I get bullied some, there's drama, people gossip, and back stab, but for every good thing there are a million good things.
I'm just as guilty as anyone else about complaining about how hard my life is, but I also realize how good I have it compared to others. There's always someone worse off then you. I think our teenage years are better then people make it out to be. My point is that you can sit back and complain and whine about how hard you have it or you can live your life and enjoy it. I think all of us worry too much about things that aren't really that important, things that stress us out and pull us down.

I think it completely depends. Obviously if your a teenager living in rural Bandgladesh working in a sheatshop and dealing with constant poverty, you're going to have a better idea of what the hardships of life are like than a lot of adults could dream of.
However, if your like the teenagers I am around on a day to day basis, a lot of the stuff people talk about is just crap. Plain and simple. I would rather be around my parents friends discussing politics with them than the, "he said what? and omg hes gay?!" stuff. However, this still seems to be the life of Lauren Conrad and she's like 21.
Life is different for everyone. We all go through good times and bad times. I, however, think being a teenager is a completely unique experience that should be lived to the fullest. Sure it comes with high school drama, but it also comes with the best of both worlds. Getting to live life with your friends and have a taste of independence,especially if you can drive yet, without the responsiblities of paying for that freedom and plus having the comforts of home. We get to take advantage of so many experiences that are new to us for the first time, and yet again, don't have the pressure of the bills that wait at home.
I think more teenagers should get over all this stuff, and focus. We are never going to have this time in our life again. Being a teenager is short, what like 4-6 years depending on what you consider a teenager? Being an adult last more like 50. If your living in the ghetto, you have an excuse. But I believe there is a lot more to life than the the trivial junk most high schoolers occupy their time with, and I plan to find it.