The Depiction of Teenagers (Written by a teenager)
By: Helen Lantzos
Tags: Teenagers, Society, Social Media

Teenagers. If you think the terrible twos were bad and the troublesome threes just wait to there a teenager they say, when almost magically, a switch suddenly goes off in their heads, and they become a moody, hormonal, disrespectful, careless abomination of nature. But don’t worry it’s just a phase. When that switch goes off in their head, their emotions go with it. They are no longer susceptible to be respectful well-mannered human beings. Oh no, how could they be their teenagers. Their just one constant mood. Dragging misery and dispair wherever they wander, and that's even if they leave their rooms. You must be one superhero parent if you can manage that. Parents, adults, society act as if we don’t have the compacity to function anymore, to think for ourselves, like normal rational human beings. Can I even use the word human anymore? Because when you become a teenager, well you basically become a mutant. You get segregated into your little glass box. With a do not disturb for 7 years sign on it, and all the stereotypes man has come up with plastered on your delicate walls. And by placing us in this oh so delicate box, it just makes us want to break it even more. Rebel, even more, fight you.

We are depicted in this modern-day and age as useless spoilt, hormonal brats. They don’t work or show respect to their parents and just expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. But yet, the funny fact is that this stage of life the ‘teenager’ stage of life is one of the most important stages of life. This is the stage where we hit puberty, our body is constantly changing and we have to learn to love it, or leave it. Either way, if you’re not skinny, blonde, and pretty. Or tall, dark, and handsome. Well, there's no hope for you. Probably better off staying in your little glass box. You’ll be safer. Because everyone knows not to throw stones at a glass box, right? Because that would be silly right? Some would say stupid. But yet that’s what the world likes to do, that’s what society likes to do. During some of the most crucial years of your life. The years in which blood, sweat, and tears are all too familiar. The years where you decide what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. Let me put that into perspective for you. So you’re 18 and you’ve just graduated from school, and now. You've been thrown into the big wide world. The lock on your glass box is slowly starting to loosen, but not yet. You’ve still got some time left in the ‘not taken seriously sector’. And yet you are forced to choose your career path for the rest of your life. Hardly seems fair, but it's ok their teenagers. And when that door will be flung open and you will be free from your isolation from the world. Finally. You’ll know about as just as much as you did when you first entered.

I for one like my box sometimes. But I do wish it wasn’t glass, it would be great if we could get it tinted as some celebrities do on their car windows to stop the world from looking in. Shame I didn’t get that option on the night before my thirteenth, would have been much appreciated. Instead, everyone got a front-row seat to my teenage years. But I think they purposely didn’t give us the option of privacy. Well because when that switch goes off, you become a rebel. You suddenly start doing outrageous unthinkable things. Boys and girls start getting involved, alcohol, smoking, periods, sex, and grades start to drop. Because that was the first thought that popped to mind when I became a teenager. ‘Right how fast do you reckon I can chug this bottle of vodka?’ or ‘He’s pretty cute I should go sit next to him, NO you’re a teenager no you should go make out with him or have sex.’ Scandalous I know, I would never. It’s like we were supposed to be given a handbook just before we entered our box, ‘The guide to being a perfect teenager. Step 1 Be as rude as humanly possible, actually scrap the human bit you are no longer one. Be as vicious as your dog. Yeh, that’ll do it.’ Like hello? Then parents I suppose were given a ‘What to expect from a teenager. №1 Zero compensation for any other life form, №2 Extremely rebellious and rude.’ And so on, I bet you can use your imagination. Get creative. But nowhere in my handbook did it say ‘Possible side effects: Sadness, anger, mood swings, an outburst of random rudeness, acne, bloating, growth spurts, depression, anxiety ..etc’ And I myself have experienced many of the above. But when we display any of the many side effects of being a teenager, we get criticized. Told off, blamed, shouted out, grounded. And sent straight back to our little glass box, where we belong. You people think that's healthy.

I don’t about you but I was so excited to become a teenager. I was finally going to be considered as a young adult, I could voice my opinions, I would be taken seriously. Yeh well. I take it back, it sucks. It shouldn't have to, but when a whole society depicts you this way what can you do? You’ll grow out of it, don’t worry, it's just a phase. Once that switch gets flipped back on all your trauma of your teenage years will be whipped away (T&C’s This is not guaranteed).