I think I grew up differently.
In school, it seemed like everyone was more preoccupied with getting their first kiss at a certain time, finding someone to date for more than two days, and picking out the right clothes for school; waking up at six in the morning to do so, no less. I’m not saying everyone was like this, there were the studious ones, the ones who didn’t say anything, the ones who didn’t care, the ones who cared too much.
And then there was me.
I was quiet (unless I was with friends of course), cared more about school than social status, and I didn’t worry about when I was going to get a boyfriend. A boyfriend seemed like a thing to put on the back burner, I had too much going on in the way of clubs and sports teams. Plus, I wore a uniform for most of middle school and all of high school, so I didn’t have that added pressure of what to wear.
I remember reading a magazine article when I was around 11, one of those teenybopper magazines that were obnoxiously adorned with pictures of Zac Efron and Miley Cyrus. It said that most girls got their first kiss around 13 or 14 years old. From then on, it seemed like it was a goal for girls my age to get their first kiss, that if it didn’t happen by 13 or 14, that was it.
Looking back, I think that was the first time that I experienced pressure from the media. Of course, media pressure only got worse from there.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be growing up in the age of social media. The age where everyone can know everything about you with the click of a button. The age where girls don’t read teen magazines because they’re more concerned with other “womanly” things.
It seems now kids are growing up way too fast and they don’t have to. We expect our children to know more than they need to because they are growing up in the age of technology. Sometimes, it’s hurting them more than it’s helping.
To all those out there who feel like things need to be done at a certain time, slow down. Take life as it comes. Enjoy the journey and every moment in between.
Take it from me, things come when they’re supposed to, and a first kiss doesn’t have to happen a certain age, even if there’s a poster of Zac Efron next to that statistic.
