What Does It Mean To Be A Teenager?

[Ho-oh'sRealm 0]

I've recently been reading this book by two teenagers called 'Do Hard Things.' It's supposed to motivate teens to do more than what society thinks of us. So what does Society think of Teenagers, and more importantly, what do you think of Teenagers?I guess being a teenager might be the most difficult time mentally during the human life.Your hormones do crazy things, you fall in love with all the wrong people, your body changes in all the strange and inexplicable ways, and you seem to think you're right about what you're saying. As far as I'm concerned, it's very much a transition phase between a carefree childhood into a problem-riddled adulthood. Teenagers don't want to take responsibility, like any child, but they want to be treated with respect and equality like an adult.Society starts treating you like an adult in all the wrong ways, telling you to start earning, to start taking responsibility for your actions, to study hard and look for a good job. But they don't give you all the equal-footing as adults would get, and for everything, you're treated like a child. It's contradictory, I know, but I guess that's the best way to explain it.It's a tough road, but so is everything else, so I guess this post has no point. Meh.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

If you think being a teenager is tough...wait until you start making mortgage payments and save for your kid's college! :)And after all that you scraped and saved, you hear from your kid that he/she wants to be an actress, dropping out of college after 6 years without a degree. She then goes out falls in love with a much, way too old man who could be your drinking buddy and says she is engaged. If you survive through that wait until you hit your retirement age just to find out you have to work another 5 years if you want 50% of your retirement fund to sustain you for next 10 years of remaining life. And if that isn't enough, your kids want you dead so that they can collect your life insurance money!HA HA HAI think the problem seems so much bigger being a teenager at your teen, because your awareness of the world is that--only 13~19 years of your life. Once you grow out of that you'll soon realize you have another 50~70 years ahead facing one problem after another. Teen years and its problem will get you ready for your young adult life. And the troubles you face during your young adult life will prepare you to live through your 30's and 40's. You steadily stay the course through your mid-life crises and reach your 60's, hopefully you have accumulated enough wisdom to get to through the remainder of your life, enjoying and reflecting.I believe that your life was designed with a purpose. And each stage is preparing you for the next. And as you "graduate" to the next stage you learn how to tackle the next obstacle with wisdom. And perhaps that's why it seems like easier as you grow older. Your teen years are tougher because it's the very first battle.

[truefusion 3]

Society starts treating you like an adult in all the wrong ways, telling you to start earning, to start taking responsibility for your actions, to study hard and look for a good job.

If that's treating teens in all the wrong ways, then i'd hate to think what the good ways involve.

But they don't give you all the equal-footing as adults would get, and for everything, you're treated like a child.

What is this "equal-footing" you say adults have? Do you mean the kind of benefits obtained by following the aforementioned "wrong ways"? If teens are treated in these "wrong ways," then it follows that these "special" adults went through the same thing as a teen, therefore implying that they've learned their lesson, hence treated better than teens. You say teens are like children, not wanting to take responsibility. If you act like a child, i would not be surprised if you are treated like one, regardless of your age. But what is this equal-footing you speak of?

[anwiii 17]

i really like bh's take on things. as far as your point, you had one when reading between the lines.

it's true that society pretty much dictates one way. right for some, wrong for others. as a teenager, all parents and society can do is guide and prepare for your long future ahead. preparing and guiding does not mean we are treating you like an adult and being treated like a "child" will has it's place when trying to guide and prepare a child. what is a child. is it someone who needs to learn, prepare, and be guided towards one's future? if so, we are all children in buffalo's help's response to "growing up" and the different phases of life that prepares us for the next phase. the only contradiction would be how you define the differences between an adult and a child

so what does it mean to be a teenager? a lot of things. you touched on a few. for all tenagers though, you should take in how society teaches and guides and combine that with who you are, then find time to separate the b.s. that is different for everyone. then the teenager can, or now an adult, can prepare and guide him or herself for their own future knowing his or her own right path.....while maybe....still feeling treated like a child.

there is no difference between expectations on what society dictates and expectations that we place on our own selves. they are still expectations right or wrong. it's usually all relative. fact is though, a teenager doesn't have to put food on the table. the teenager doesn't have to pay bills. the teenager doesn't have to guide or prepare for other peoples future. a teenager doesn't of the worries when the economy is for crap. compare a teenagers "play time" to the "play time" of an adult that has a tremendous amount of responsibilities.

every teenagers life is different though just like every adult life is different. i was only talking about the life that society dictates we live in just like you were....but in reality, there are just as many lives being lived that society rejects.

so a lot of kids should be gratefull in how they are given the chance to be guided and prepared for their own future by giving them SOME responsibilites at a young age. some kids don't have that opportunity....and i'll bet....they wish they did. so instead of a teenager feeling life is contradictory in how they are treated as a young adult, they should be gratefull that they have that opportunity to be guided in to their own future where eventually they can take all the good from it, and guide their own selves the rest of the way....

Society starts treating you like an adult in all the wrong ways, telling you to start earning, to start taking responsibility for your actions, to study hard and look for a good job. But they don't give you all the equal-footing as adults would get, and for everything, you're treated like a child. It's contradictory, I know, but I guess that's the best way to explain it.
It's a tough road, but so is everything else, so I guess this post has no point. Meh.

[Strikee 1]

Well.. Beeing a teenager :-?I THINK I've just came out of that category beeing 20 but who knows....I stil might think like one.Beeing a teenager Is the best part of life if you ask me , it's just as good as childhood and alot better then the grown up life. This is kinda' relative because it depends on other factors like , how strict are your parent , how rich you are (or your parents) , what kind of school you go to , what kind of friends you have , how you look (nerd/cool) these are the things that make the difference between teenagers.From what I've seen in movies beeing an American teen is a hard thing compared to what happens here at schools in my country. It's true here we have more violence but at least it's limited at knifes and bates , NO GUNS and also less drugs.Other then that life itself as a u.s teen seems HARD.Everything on TV now is so violent , drugs cigarettes, alchool , guns , fights... this are the things that teens this day grow up with from tv. There's nothing that can be done to change that , this is how everyone got used to , so this is how we live.What i think it's not fair , in the U.S the legal drinking age is 21!!! that's ridicoulous. Here we can drink legally from 18 , but daily from 12 )).. no one cares about this age problem so much.Parents sent their kids to the store to buy them beer or cigars , it doesnt even seem like a big deal now , but deep down inside everyone knows it's wrong. Old habbits die hard you know that saying......Teens today are all about technology , Phones , iPods , Computers .... if you don't have the latest fashion you're not "COOL" )It's sad ..

[nolan 0]

The problems associated with any classification of people tend to fall on the shoulders of the visible majority within that group. At least 3/4's of the teenagers (and not teenagers exclusively, mind you) that I see lack anything resembling an appropriate level of judgment, have a horrible sense of their priorities, are arrogant, and place no value upon education. In short, they're either dime-a-dozen rock stars with their heads in the clouds who think the world farts rainbows, or they're gangster thug wannabes stealing car stereos from one another just to blast them at full volume while driving aimlessly through store parking lots, because that's what being "cool" is.

I do acknowledge, however, that there are many good teenagers out there who are trying to avoid those paths. I also acknowledge that many adults never leave those paths behind. I see just as many (or more) arrogant (and ignorant to compound matters) twenty- and thirty-something year olds as I see arrogant teenagers. Part of the reason for that, however, is that we've been living in the "ME" generation for quite some time now. We raise kids to be so self-important that they never develop any sense of humility. No one can cede to an argument these days -- they always have to be right -- and no one is willing to lower their voice in order to allow another voice to be heard, because doing so seems to imply a sense of ascension in their minds.

In the end, the most that I hope is that "good" people (by my own subjective reasoning) will be able to work their way through all the clutter, and that those who truly wish to escape from the path they're on will be able to do so with as little ill consequence as possible.

I've recently been reading this book by two teenagers called 'Do Hard Things.' It's supposed to motivate teens to do more than what society thinks of us. So what does Society think of Teenagers, and more importantly, what do you think of Teenagers?
I guess being a teenager might be the most difficult time mentally during the human life.

Your hormones do crazy things, you fall in love with all the wrong people, your body changes in all the strange and inexplicable ways, and you seem to think you're right about what you're saying. As far as I'm concerned, it's very much a transition phase between a carefree childhood into a problem-riddled adulthood. Teenagers don't want to take responsibility, like any child, but they want to be treated with respect and equality like an adult.

Society starts treating you like an adult in all the wrong ways, telling you to start earning, to start taking responsibility for your actions, to study hard and look for a good job. But they don't give you all the equal-footing as adults would get, and for everything, you're treated like a child. It's contradictory, I know, but I guess that's the best way to explain it.

It's a tough road, but so is everything else, so I guess this post has no point. Meh.

[iGuest 3]

Equal FootingWhat Does It Mean To Be A Teenager?

"Society starts treating you like an adult in all the wrong ways,Telling you to start earning, to start taking responsibility for yourActions, to study hard and look for a good job. But they don't give youAll the equal-footing as adults would get, and for everything, you'reTreated like a child. It's contradictory, I know, but I guess that'sThe best way to explain it."

I work in software. I am faced with new things to learn all the time as an adult. Whenever I need to learn something new, I go to somebody who has done it before successfully. I am not on equal footing with the guy that has done it successfully because it is new to me. So it is at this point that I take their advice on the best way to proceed. Of course I can ask questions, but I don't expect to be on equal footing, no matter how much of an expert I may be in the field in general. That is all that is happening here.

Adults have done it before, know exactly how you are feeling, and what you are going to face in regular everyday life. Yes, we all need to make our own mistakes, but they need to be the kind that won't hold you back a lot (like mentioned in some of the other posts). When adults are telling their kids to start earning, taking responsibility for their actions, to study hard, and to look for a good job, they are merely providing insight into the necessary skill sets required in life to be successful and avoid some hardships that can and do occur in life. Naturally,there is not equal footing because nothing has been proven yet. Why would equal footing be expected? Has the child done anything yet? Does the adult know that the child is likely to go through all of the normal rebellious and childish ways of dealing/coping with their problems? Equal footing is not something that is granted, it is earned. Credibility as an adult is established by a track record of proving yourself over time. Adults will give their children a chance, until they prove that they are not ready for it yet.

Believe it or not, teenagers are often their own worst enemies when it comes to these situations. Instead of acting like adults, they strive for their independence by utilizing childish behaviors to get what they want. Some examples of this are lying, being secretive, not taking responsibility for their actions, blaming their problems on everything without truly considering the part they played in things, and playing the easier to get forgiveness than permission game. Much of this is due to the normal process of parents trying to instill good principles in their children, which hinder the actions that the children want to take. The teenager sees this as being held back from doing what they want to do, instead of seeing it for what it is: A guardian angel that wants the best for you and sees things that the teenager cannot yet see. The teenager is highly impatient, and wants what they want, when they want it (which is yesterday), and does not fully appreciate or realize that there is a long life ahead of them in which they will have plenty of time to do whatever they want. They should heed the warnings of those who have walked the path already, and take the best start they can get, instead of complaining about it. The adults are not holding them back, they are guiding them away from the sharks and landslides of the world and teaching them how to do the same on their own so they can have the best chance at true success. Why would you want to do things the hard way when you have somebody helping find the way?

-reply by Logan