5 Things you wish you could tell your teenage self!

There are a few experiences dealt with, by a number of teenagers and the humiliation they may have caused is only understood once the teens become adults. It is only when a teen graduates over to adult life, the embarrassment engulfs them. Embarrassment from all the dim-witted decisions made, embarrassment from all the unnecessary hate spewed and embarrassment from being the textbook idiot.

As we get older, each one of us realizes that we were never much different from the others and that we were only ever consumed by our hopes to be the main character. Were we ever the protagonists in others’ fantasies? Not likely. Our teenage teaches all of us a greatly valuable lesson and that is that we were too obsessed with the rather insignificant details about ourselves.

Nevertheless, here are a few lessons taught by adolescence.

1 – That boyfriend/girlfriend is NOT your whole world – Too often, we find teenagers becoming obsessive about being in “relationships”. This desire for having a partner at this age stems from the idea that relationships inherently make you a grownup. This wish to have a significant other is also maintained by unintentional peer pressure. Being in a relationship at this age is not essentially a bad concept. But when it becomes codependent is when the trouble sets in. Relationships and dating stages at this age can get pointlessly codependent and toxic. The parties involved, frequently get overly needy, giving no space for each other to grow and evolve.

2 – Grades are NOT everything – Schools can pressurize students very heavily, to the point of distraught and depression. Time and time again we notice such pressure rising from a student’s household which is additional to the already existing institutional demands. As such, teens find themselves drowning in the pool of constant competition. Healthy competition is always a good experience to learn better. But sometimes, competition can very quickly become negative. The longing to achieve most scores among peers and the appreciation attached by the institution and parents to such an achievement can effortlessly weaken a teen’s internal dreams, consequently crushing them as well.

3 – You are not “too mature for your age” – A large portion of teens are of the idea that they have brains that carry incredibly wise information, naturally making them very smart and mature for their age. Please don’t deny that you were not one of these teens. A number of us were of this belief and looking back at it, it all seems very embarrassing. Along with many teens believing this lie on their own, there are a few others who were also fed this information by other, older people. If you were ever convinced by this statement by an older individual, I am sorry to tell you this, but you have been groomed. It is very easy for older perpetrators and/or groomers to sway young growing minds with this idea that they have more knowledge than a regular teen. This is a very terrible situation and can speedily get dangerous.

4 – You are beautiful – The crisp teenage is the time when one wholly commits oneself to checking all the boxes listed under the perpetuated beauty standards. “Do I have beautiful eyes?”, “Do I have hair like in an advertisement?”, “Am I tall enough?” and the most important of all, “Am I beautiful?”. Unrealistic beauty standards very often take a weighty toll on an individual, let alone a vulnerable teen. It is high time that the common misconceptions surrounding one’s beauty are abolished. It is crucial to spread the belief, especially among teens, that “beauty” is only skin-deep. The standard for what is considered beautiful is far too outdated because there is not one format for beauty. Everybody is beautiful, regardless of what suits the standard, and what does not.

5 – It is okay to stand out – It is very common to see people trying to blend in with the others, especially teens. They want to be normal, average, like the rest of them. This principle arises mostly from the fear of being bullied. Bullies usually pick on an individual that stands out in a crowd. Such individuals usually have uncommon features about themselves, which are usually diminished by those who are upset with their mediocre lives. As a result, such features are often kept under wraps. Teens need to be taught to respect and boost their own as well as others’ extraordinary qualities. Standing out in a crowd should always be appreciated because it is not easy to live with something that separates one from the commonality, especially something that they have no control over. Such rare and unconventional characteristics make people, teens in this context, unique and true to themselves.

So these were a few of the million lessons that teenage teaches. Hope you were able to relate to this article and are now capable to teach these lessons to those loved ones in your lives that are going through a rough teenage patch.