I finally understand why so many women hate sharing their age. My last teen year hasn’t been as satisfying as I would have wanted it to be but it’s definitely not something I’m ready to let go of.
I realised that I didn’t have another teen after this and the thought of it really got to me. All these years I couldn’t wait to get older. When I was 12, I could wait to be a teen (and pubescent). Then when I was 13 the thought of that sweet 16 party on some yacht made me into this crazy hormonal, attention seeking yet introvert (how?) young adult. But now that I’m 19, I just want to go back to being 17 again. (And possibly meet a young Zac Effron “faints”).
It’s not just about getting older or the responsibilities but about losing the excuse of being a teen. A decade of hormone driven, social media dominated, gossip riddled torture wasn’t so bad. People will tell you that you’ll have the same diagnoses when you’re in your 20’s but the stakes are higher, you’re not going to get grounded but fired!
More than re-living my teen years I wish I could just take a trip back and modify my teen years. I don’t have regrets yet it feels like certain things were left unsaid and incomplete. School tournaments I should have been a part of or cheered for and the debates I should have argued. That one book everyone was talking about but I was too pretentious to read or that one dance I missed. Friends who I should’ve fought for and friends I should’ve gotten over.
Maybe if I had put in a lot more effort to kick off the blanket and actually gotten out of bed for once, I wouldn’t be here writing this piece.
Sure my teen years may not have been as eventful as those teen chick-flicks. No one stood outside of my window with a boom box over their head, playing love songs. Yet there are definitely some great stories in there. Someday when I’m old enough and it’s acceptable (no longer embarrassing) for me to share my stories I’m sure there will be laughs all around the table.
Because at the end, there’s an allure and a sense of pride in calling yourself a teen… that and all the stereotypes synonymous with being one.
