The Teen Life

Hanging at the park, or the ballgame, or the movies, or the mall, or that restaurant, or that cool party, or that friend's house.  The life of a teenager.  Making new friends, losing old friends, meeting new girls, meeting new boys, that first crush, that first heartbreak, getting that first job, learning to drive.  The life of a teenager.  Loving parents, hating parents, needing parents.  The life of a teenager.  Cell phone, text messages, facebook, youtube, myspace.  The life of a teenager.  Studying hard, making the grade, graduating, college, work.  The life of a teenager.  Seeking praise, wanting praise, self identification.  The life of a teenager.

The life of a teenager.  One of the most misunderstood, most talked about, most exploited periods of time in an individual's life.  Friday, I spent some time watching the teenagers who walk the hallways everyday at The Baltimore Talent Development High School.  It is a wonderful place of learning, led by dedicated, caring people, located in the inner city, in a neighborhood that some would deem "undesirable" and others would deem "full of promise and hope".  As I watch them move about, talking and laughing among themselves, grabbing stuff from their lockers, eating candy and lollipops, trying to sneak that cell phone call or ipod tune, running down the hallway, and rushing to the cafeteria, I cannot help but think that they are "typical" teenagers.  Even more, I wondered if they view themselves as "typical" teens, just like most other kids their age or do they view their lives as somewhat different, not the same.  It is my hope that they as well as all teens view themselves at "typical".  Typical in the sense that they are just like most of their same-age peers, regardless of geographic location, economic status or racial/cultural identity.  They are scared about growing up.  They are scared about making their own choices and decisions and having to live with the consequences of such.  They are scared about what the world has in store for them.  They are scared about being able to get a good education, get a good job and be able to take care of themselves.  They are scared about falling prey to such ills as substance abuse, violence, and teenage pregnancy.  They are scared of not being able to live up to "the standard", real and perceived set for them and in most cases, by them.  They are scared of not obtaining the approval of the important adults in their lives.

All of this is very real in the life of a teen and the lesson for young people is this:  Most adults, particularly your parents and teachers, know that your teen years are a time of great fun but also a time of great fear.  You are not charting into unknown OR unfamiliar territory.  What you are experiencing has been experienced in some manner by most of the adults you know.  The only thing that has changed is time.  You are not alone and you are not doing anything new.  Most adults, at one time or another, have shared some version of your fears.  Keep in mind that they are present in your lives to guide you and help to ease your fears of growing up.  Use them.  Learn from them.  Study their successes AND their mistakes.  Call and talk to them for advice.  Your teen years are the time to "test out" your decision-making and survival skills.  It is the time to make some choices on your own and accept the consequences, good and/or bad.  In most cases, you won't be penalized or judged harshly.  Spend more time learning about yourself as opposed to the lyrics of the next rap song, or following the life and times of the currently popular movie star, reality star, athlete or professional this or that.  That is the way to increase your self confidence and decrease your fears.  Being scared is a state of your mind.  A mind that is controlled by you.  You, who hold the power to be or do whatever you can dream.  Remember to smile more, laugh more, be more kind to others, compassionate for others, giving with others.

As I continued to watch the teenagers of The Baltimore Talent Development High School go about their day, I couldn't help but feel a bit envious.  Envious because of their stage in life.  Adolesence.  That time in life when you really have no potentially life altering worries.  No worries about the rent.  No worries about the lights.  No worries about food.  No worries about job downsizing.  No worries about making it all work and having enough for the next day.  Instead, you get to worry about not having enough fun.  Worry about not meeting enough new people.  Worry about missing out on the best party of the year or the best school dance.  Worry about missing out on a great opportunity to study abroad, learn a new language, experience a new culture.  Worry about not staying after school for that extra half hour of help in english, math or science.  Worry about not hearing about that great opportunity to take part in a cool community service project.  Worry about not taking the time to read to stimulate the mind and gain knowledge.  Worry about not taking the time to study history.  YOUR history so you can understand your past and make plans for your future. Worry about not getting the message that one person can make a difference in the world.

The teen  life.  It is mostly the same with most young people, something I hope most teens realize.  The same worries.  The same ups and downs.  It doesn't matter if you live in Miami, Maine, Seattle or California.  The teen life. What you make of it is up to you.  The teen life.  What will your memory be?