Do You Remember...

I cannot stand it when adults say to teenagers, "You don't have any problems yet, just you wait." Or, "Oh, being a teenager isn't that bad. It gets worse once you get older." Or, my personal favorite *eye roll*, "You don't even know what stress is yet." Being a teenager may be one of the most difficult points in your life. Do I know from experience? Of being a teenager, yes. Of being an adult, no, however I have talked to adults who've confirmed this. I understand that adults often forget what it's like to be a teenager, to be in high school, to try to figure out who you are, to have the stress of school and jobs and thinking of the future and saving money and having a social life all at the same time. And if that's not enough, what about the family problems and drama with friends. If that's all not enough to stress a teenager out, what about that teenager who was beaten as a child and is still dealing with the stress of being terrified of going home? Or the teenager who was raped and now has to try to heal from the damage that was done without letting on to anyone that anything is wrong? Or the teenager who made one wrong choice and is now pregnant and has to give up her education and possible success to raise this child. Or the teenager whose mom just got diagnosed with terminal cancer, yet he still has to go to school and work and pretend to be strong. Or the teenager who has been made fun of so much that he needs to cut himself every single day just to be able to wake up the next morning? Or the teenager who looks in the mirror and sees only fat, fat, and more fat, so she starves herself to be accepted. Or the teenager whose parent's just announced that they're getting a divorce and they now have to decide who to live with, what town they want to live in, whether or not to leave their friends and all they know. Or the teenager who feels like they're walking on eggshells at home because their parent is an alcoholic and will snap at the smallest thing. Or the teenager who has so many secrets bottled up inside that they just might burst. Or the teenager who is friends of people who are going through stuff like this and they feel the need to be strong for their friends, meanwhile they're breaking inside for their friends. We, as teenagers, have incredible things and opportunities in our lives, not gonna lie. But we also have so much to deal with, and it really does not help when the adults around us have no sympathy whatsoever. As an adult, think about what you went through before you entered into adulthood. Were you sexually abused? Were you bullied? Were you going through family problems? Before you speak, think about what the teenager you're talking to might be going through. For some, an adult telling them that they don't know what stress or problems are might just be the breaking point between life and death for them. Teenagers are at this raw, precious age where we're figuring life out. Who we can trust. What we like to do. What we want to do for the rest of our lives. What we're good at. What love is. Who we are in general. What we need is godly men and women coming along side us and mentoring us, loving us, and being there for us. Please be that for a teenager in your life, we need it more than you know.
Blessings,
Ariel