The term "teenager", although often used to describe any youths who are in a transitional stage between being a child and becoming an adult, is actually defined as "a person whose age is a number ending in "teen" in the English language: that is to say, someone from the age of 13 to the age of 19", according to a search on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thus, from the definition above, I have been a teenager for over three years, and counting. Although the previous two years seemed to be the worst period of my life, things have drastically taken a turn for the better. I won't be surprised if these few years actually turn out to be the best years of my life, considering how I will be facing even tougher challenges after the end of my teenage life, such as the eventual struggle for a degree, and employment.
Friends are an integral part of life. And school, which takes up the bulk of any teenager's life in Singapore, due to Singapore's laws on education, is, in my opinion, the best time to make lasting friendships. In school, we are placed with a number of our peers in a class, where we are expected to work together and help one another along the academic path to success. It is thus almost impossible to not make friends in this setting.
Furthermore, there is no fixed number of people who are allowed to excel in examinations, as it is based on meritocracy. However, in the workplace, many people can be vying for one position, and so it is more likely for your trust to be betrayed by one whom you regarded as your friend, just so he or she can be promoted.
However, there are also teenagers who cringe at the very mention of the term "school". They, in my opinion, are ones who fail to make a valid comparison between the harsh demands of the working world and the relatively more carefree environment in school. In school, we are still given leeway when we fail to submit our assignments on time, as this would not adversely threaten our teachers' livelihood, whereas at work, a late assignment could result in major losses for our employers, putting us at great danger of getting the boot.
Another reason is the fact that humans are greedy. Though many may claim they aren't a glutton, they are, in one way or another, still desiring for more than what they currently possess. This results in dissatisfaction with life for humans of all ages, not merely teenagers, even though we may appear to be the only ones unhappy with our lives as we tend to be more vocal about our dislikes.
Thus, the teenage years ARE the best years of one's life, even though we fail to appreciate it at times due to our judgement being clouded by a sudden influx of work, and stress.
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5 comments:
I somewhat agree with your views, though I feel that "easiest" would be more suitable than "best". But then, I suppose when life is easy, it's good.
As a child, one struggles to find their personality, to start their learning foundation and to learn to trust strangers, learning how to make friends and follow orders from teachers.
As an adult, one would again struggle, to prove themselves in the real world. To find employers who are seeking their skills and capabilities, so that they can land a job. Also, it is during the adult phase of one's life where one would look for a partner for life, which combined with coping with their jobs, prove to be very time and effort consuming.
However, as a teenager, one already has a basic knowledge foundation to build on, as well as enough personality to go up to a stranger in school to be their friend. Also, the time as a teenager is when one would have the most freedom, as their parents would trust them to have enough sense to not do anything stupid when they are in public, nor like you said, do they have to worry about being stabbed in the back by one they trust just because both of them are trying for the same position in a job or such.
Most people, after they grow up, will realize that their teenage years were the best years of their life.
No way! Childhood (for me) was a lot better than my teenage years. But I guess being a teenage IS better than being an adult worrying about making ends meet.
It isnt necessarily the best years of one's life as how do you regard about those who lost their parents during their teenage years during the tsunami?or 9/11? Do you thin that they were they the best years for them?;to be left alone at such a young age?
Well, perhaps I should've made myself clearer, then. My post refers to the teenager population in general, that is, one without significant losses in the family, and living an average life.
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