The Curious Mind of a Teenager.

Wrote this a while back and forgot about it. It's not perfect, not even that good, but I figured I'd post it anyway. Enjoy :)

Ah, Teenagers. How do we dare define them? The unfortunately lucky souls drifting through the wonderfully awkward stage between childhood and adulthood. A masterpiece of hormones, emotions, imperfections, and growth gone wrong. Impossible to deal with, yet extremely fascinating all the same.

The life stage of these so-called teenagers is one that will always remain shrouded in mystery, despite the undeniable fact that everybody had to have been one at some point in their miserable lives. Usually we are all quite content with just screaming throughout the entire house “I hate this family! You’ll never understand me!” before running to our rooms and slamming the door shut. But I’m tired of screaming. Tired of yelling. Tired of the tears. Misunderstood? I’m done with that. So I’ve decided the impossible. I’m going to explain to you the very mind that has always both terrified, and fascinated you for so long now. The mind of a teenager.

Let me clear things up for all you sad, ignorant adults. Let me tell you what being a teenager is really like. Being a fourteen, nearly fifteen, year-old girl myself, I’m the best you can find to do it. Sure, I may have only just entered into the overrated, far too feared teenage years, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know a thing or two about them. So listen up, and get comfy, this might take a while.

So, you wake up one morning. You’re sixteen again, tired as ever, and it’s time for you to go school. So you struggle to push yourself out of bed—I’m sure you still know how hard that is—and release a yawn so big your parents could have sworn it shook the entire house. Still drowsy, you stumble to the bathroom, managing to only trip over a few thousand things. We can skip the shower. The way you look in the mirror and spend at least ten minutes poking and prodding at the red spots on your skin. We can even skip school, where you spend seven hours of your life trapped in the sickeningly closed-off spaces of the classrooms, and then four hours more at your desk as you struggle to finish your mountains of homework. Because, honestly, I’m pretty sure that these are the only things you really remember. The school. The homework. The zits. And, of course, the friends. I’m here to tell you how a teenager feels, not what their life is like. So let me start over. You’re not sixteen anymore. Forget I said anything.

Okay, so you want to know what being a teenager is like? Well, I’ll tell you.

It sucks… and it’s great.

You don’t understand, I know you don’t. Because you’re an adult. So just shut your mouth for a snippet of a second and let me finish.

Sometimes, being a teenager is good.

You feel good. You feel smart. You feel liked, and wanted, and important. You have lots of friends and they all love you like a sibling. You have a wide range of personal jokes, a handful of fun spots to hang out, and too many fond memories to count. It’s good, it’s all good. And your teachers. They all like you. Except for the one’s that hate you, but that’s okay. It’s all in good fun. You get good grades and you play exciting sports and you somehow manage everyday to have plenty of free time after homework to just hang out and relax. You’re fairly sure that your crush likes you back. They keep smiling and staring and flirting. It’s nice and normal and fun. You like it.

And then the next month. Or more accurately, the next day.

You feel horrible. You feel ugly. You feel dumb. All your friends are withdrawing from you. They think you're annoying. They like each other better. You get your first “F” on a math test. Your grades drop. Your teachers must think you’re stupid. You are stupid. The pimple on your chin is a volcano. Your nose is too big. You suck at sports. You’re hopelessly fat. Nobody will ever like you, especially not your crush. Everybody is too good for you. You're going to spend the rest of your miserable existence alone, as a failure. You’re the most worthless person on this planet.

And then it starts all over again. An endless, sickening cycle of ups and downs. When you're caught in between childhood and adulthood, you can just expect things like that. You can just tell its not going to be easy.

That’s honestly the best way I can possibly explain this. Being a teenager is like riding a roller coaster. Fast and uncontrollable and furious. You have ups and downs and ups and down, and when you close your eyes (and I know you will), you can’t see a thing of what’s coming next. Sure, by the end of it you look back and see yourself having fun, despite the queasy feeling in your stomach, but all in all it’s pretty tough. God, it’s tough. And it’s a ride I’m only just beginning.

I guess I don't really expect you to understand. You can't really understand unless you ARE one. But truth is, I'm not really asking you to understand, anyway. I just want you to accept. Accept that you can't understand me, that you can't control me, that I'm changing. Accept this. Because its happening, you know it is, and there's nothing you can do about it. Its part of life. And please, for the love of God, do not try to "talk" to me about it. Just treat it with quiet acceptance, and all will be well.

All will be well.

Oh, what am I kidding? I'm a teenager for God sakes! I'm in for one hell of a ride.