We’re always faced with something in life. As a child, it’s the fear of the monsters under your bed, as an adult, it’ll probably be bills, our jobs and other things like that.
But, I guess those who suffer most are the most stigmatized. Teens. Kids like you and me. We’re told these 4 years are for us to reach our full potential and anytime we aren’t doing homework we’re supposed to be studying, researching our dream career and universities but also having fun and pursuing passions?
I don't know anything about you, but me….I don't know myself either. You may be thinking I've wasted my time, playing on my laptop all day, scrolling through YouTube or social media. But what if I told you that after school I have tuitions, then homework. And that exhausts me enough for a weekday. Then the weekend comes. I can SLEEP, watch TV, doodle or just lay down. And that’s when I’m called lazy. Or unproductive, when honestly, I'm exhausted to the point where I can cry about absolutely nothing.
People say it’s not hard, and that “When I was your age those stupid phones didn’t run our lives” Yes mom, they didn’t. But now? If I made you go without your phone you’d probably not live, you just HAVE to check Facebook and watch reels. Sure, you’ll brush it off and say you have friends all over the world and you need to keep in contact with them. But we do too. Neither would we. Our phones are basically what playing outside was like for you. Indispensable. Plus they are responsible for making sure we wake up in the morning and respond to you the first time.
How did I get off track? Wasn’t I meant to be talking about the fact that there’s so much going on in my head that I can actually explode? Well scientifically and physically it’s not possible. But emotionally, mentally, my life is EXHAUSTING. I don’t understand people who say kids and teens aren’t stressed. Like, what? You want us to know which career path we’re taking, study till our brains ache (might I add study things that we really won’t need to know. School doesn’t teach us how to buy a house, how to pay taxes, what taxes even are, or how to be independent. But thank God I know how to calculate the area of a triangle.), juggle life and good grades and never be able to say “I need a break”? Then you definitely don’t get it, and maybe you never will.
When we voice concerns about ourselves we’re deemed as idle and unwilling to work. When really, I think that it’s BURNOUT. NOT ONLY ADULTS FACE IT! You think your office workload is a lot? School is the same. Your colleagues don’t “appreciate your ideas” well, we get bullied. At least your stuff stops when you leave work, but we are further hurt through social media, the only way this generation can connect with the outside world. You’re stressed about your next bills even though you really tried to lower your electricity usage? Well we’re stressed about our grades, because we put our best in and if we fail we’re grounded.
This brings me to another thing. The school system. I’m sorry. But people are smart only because they memorize things? WHAT!? Okay, you want me to describe adaptations of the lungs. Sure. I’ll just recite the entire paragraph from the textbook. No problem. But come the test, some of us pass, some of us excel, some fail and some punch themselves in the face for knowing everything and still doing badly. That last one is me, by the way.
Exams. Just that word can freak me out. Mom, Dad I’m suffering from test anxiety. “No you’re not” they say. “You haven’t tried hard enough” they say. So what else do I do? I schedule EVERY DAY for studying, cancel social obligations, fall deeper into the pile of graded tests and homeworks due. When you’re home from school, it’s homework. If you’re done with homework you need to study things you’ve learnt a few weeks ago that you’ll forget by the time you leave the exam hall. This stresses us out so much to the point we can cry and let waterfalls stream from our eyes. To be honest, I’m shocked I still have water in my body from the amount of times I cry.
However, there are some more positives to being a teenager, even though they aren’t always in plain sight. One of which is newfound independence as your parents trust you more and let you do things on your own. Suddenly, there’s no concern if you’re home alone because you’re old enough to take care of yourself. You don’t need people to look after you the way you did when you were younger.
Even then, there’s the freedom of going out by yourself with your friends and not needing a parent to supervise you. You can hang out at the mall, go for a movie, take a walk in the park or do anything (as long as it’s legal) that your heart desires. There is just more freedom in choosing what you want to do, now that you’ve grown up a little bit. It’s not always such a bad thing.
When you’re a teenager you get into high school and realize that the world isn't as fair as you may think. You have the chance to join clubs, associations and groups who share the same values you do, all working together to make the world (or the school community) a better place for us. Isn’t THAT at least worth some acknowledgement? That you can have your voice heard and even act at this age to do something? I personally think it’s great, only because then it’s proven that your voice matters.
Teenage friendships are, let’s just face it, more exciting than those we’d had when we were kids. Your best friend isn’t the girl who you can talk about Disney with anymore, more like the person you tell the latest news and school gossip to. Hanging out isn’t about going to each other’s houses to play, and it’s now more about meeting up for a movie or at the mall, or still having sleepovers with your friends (where no one sleeps), but the fun still remains.
These years are MEANT to be tough and meant to test you and mold you as an individual. But I truly think the question we are all asking ourselves is, is it worth it? Can I get through this? Is it just me who feels this way? The answers are yes, yes, and no. You’re not alone. Yes, school, social media, parents, siblings, all of this can really reign you down but then think of your hobbies, passions, your friends and those who really do care about you and you’ll be just fine. Just remember this, “Life is like riding a bike. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”