It seems, in today’s society, there is quite a negative perception of youth, specifically teens. A large fraction of adults, specifically older adults, seem to assume that all teens are irresponsible, wild, and dangerous people who drink, party, smoke weed and have sex.
Yes, maybe this occurs- I’m not saying it doesn’t- but, for one, just because you may do one of things doesn’t mean you are some wildly carefree floozy. But you can’t go through life going being afraid of every possible experience, or you will die, full of regret, for you will never have truly lived, never truly experienced this world. That doesn’t mean you have to do drugs or drink- not at all- but you have to live life to the fullest. So why not go to one party when you are young, as long as you are safe, just to have fun? Why not have intercourse with the boy you are in love with when you are 17? If you are responsible and careful and use protection, who’s to tell you not to?
But what I truly want to say to the world is that not every teen is like this, not at all. For example, myself and all my friends and lots of other teens I know- from Teen Ink, school, etc., are, well, kind of dorky. On Friday nights, I curl up with a blanket, popcorn, and maybe have a good friend over and we watch Doctor Who. And its not just me, that’s for sure. Most teenagers I know want to just hang out with friends and be comfortable and have fun, as they are.
So I’m sick of old people glaring at me and my friends when we walk down the street. I’m sick of the songs about being a teen and smoking and sleeping around. Because this just contributes to the negative assumptions. These blind stereotypes just stifle our voices in society. I’m not okay with this, because when you are a teenager, that is the time you find out who you are, and what you stand for. It’s the time when you have your first boyfriend/girlfriend and make lifelong friends. It is freedom, and not because you can party and wake up in some boy’s bed, it is freedom because it’s the time you discover so very much about yourself and this world.