To those no good teenagers who are looked down upon by everyone and anyone simply because of the date on their birth certificate, to those no good teenagers who have more to prove than people will allow them to, to those no good teenagers who work hard every day and still fail, to those no good teenagers who do things not just for others to see that they’re doing something good, but just so that they themselves know they are making a small difference, to those no good teenagers who get their heart broken time and time again and still put on a brave and smiling face every day, to those no good teenagers who struggle with dealing with the most vulnerable years of their lives, this one’s for you.
If you asked any person in society who the most obnoxious, rude, and careless group of people are they would immediately blurt out “teenagers,” without even a second thought. If you asked them if they were like that as teenagers they would immediately blurt out “no” without even a second thought. And if you asked them what we could do to change the perception on the teenage generation, they would be speechless. Speechless because it has always been the perception and honestly who cares, we all have to hate someone right? Why are the bad labels being put on people just because of the date they were born? And why, out of all the age groups, are we putting down the people who are going through the most changing and vulnerable years of life?
People always assume the worst out of teens and to be quite honest, we usually prove them right. But why do we, out of all people, get ridiculed over and over again for things that everyone does? And why do all teens get lumped in together? Should the “do gooders” and the “rotten teens” be held to the same standards and be looked at in the same way? Absolutely not. Talia Leman who is 18, prime teenage year, has raised over $10 million dollars for charity. Is she no good? Should we look down on her? Currently, less than 2% of inmates in prison are teenagers. Do you know where the highest age group percentage of inmates comes from? Ages 31-45. The exact generation who deem it very difficult to see anything good in teenagers. I am in no way saying that all teens are angels just because I, myself, am a teenager, but I will say that the pressures that my generation has, to do anything in life, is extremely more different than the generation of adults judging us.
Over the years, the thought of judgement and image has become more profound than ever. Teens no longer care how they look or feel to themselves, but instead they only feel approval when the likes on their Instagram picture exceeds 100. We no longer get confidence within ourselves, we achieve it by getting approval from others. I don’t know about you, but that is sure a lot of pressure to try and impress all 500 plus followers on Instagram or Twitter. So tell me how you can judge the teenagers of the 21st century fairly to generations before us.
So to every generation above my own, hear me out. Don’t judge. You don’t know what we've been through. Don’t label me and already form an opinion just as I tell you I’m 19. Don’t judge the 13-year-old either. Listen and learn and then think what you want. Give us a chance; we might just shock you. Very serious and adult problems are starting to happen earlier and earlier; it’s beginning to be uncontrollable and you aren't helping. Before you make assumptions, just listen. We have worries and dreams and fears and hopes too, we just keep them to ourselves because sharing them would make us even more vulnerable than we already are.
Vulnerability.
It’s the state of being open to injury, or appearing as if you are. It might be emotional or literal. This is what we go through every single day. Not having any protection in any sense of the word. We are on our own, not knowing who to trust, who to love, who to hate. Not knowing what to do with our lives as we carry the fear of failure on our backs. We are always open, always free, and sometimes that can prove to be a very detrimental thing. Everyone always says don’t think and just take a chance but this might very well prove why we can’t or why it’s so hard for us to follow that logic. We get hurt. A lot. Why do something that has a huge chance of backfiring in the end?
But here’s what I’m saying, screw what other people think. Do something that will hurt. Do something that might not be your greatest idea. You never know what might happen. Take chances, explore, and go adventure. Do something you’ve never done. This is so much easier to read (or write, trust me I know) than to actually do it. But let’s do it together. Let’s not care what all the generations think about us. Let’s go out and try and find some experiences to teach us real world lessons. Let’s make a difference in the world without feeling the need for constant approval. Let’s be the crazy youngsters. So to those no good teenagers who struggle with dealing with the most vulnerable years of their lives, this one’s for you.
