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Schools

An Ode to Teenage Life

Living as Laurel

I had the privilege of in the past two weeks. I felt like I was on Broadway, the quality of the acting was so high. There was no phoniness, but instead, sincerity. The expressions were exquisite. Each time I got back in the car, it was almost hard for me to transition back to reality because for two hours I had been in another one.

Then on Monday, the same girl who had taken me to Texas was giving her Spanish presentation. The same teenagers that had danced and sung complex lyrics carried on in their usual routine.

The point of this is not to lament about theatre or to examine the talents of a select few individuals, but to make a point of how underestimated we young adults are. Often the media depicts us as thumb crazy texters in a depressed like state, wearing all black all the time. We are disrespectful to our parents, shout, and are anti-social.

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True, we do have mood swings, but it's called puberty.

What I can’t seem to fully understand is how some adults view us in a derogatory manner or stereotype us as people that aren’t willing to work hard. It would be lying if I told you that we are all overachievers. It would also be lying if I told you that I have never texted someone that was sitting nearby or said “like” while reciting a story. The media got that part somewhat right.

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However, what movies don’t fully capture is the joy and longing that we teenagers have to be somebody and to grow up into something great. That is super cheesy, but it is one of the only ways to state it.

My friend and I have begun to deliberately reach out to adults and converse with them in a mature manner. We want to erase the negative memories or feelings that they might have when they see a group of teenagers grouped outside a movie theater or restaurant. We don’t have it all figured out, but we are searching for our own identities and wishing that everyone would respect that and not judge.

Some of us could tone down the eyeliner or wear longer skirts. That is very true. But what is also true is that every generation grows up with something that they aren’t particularly fond of.

It could be your seventh grade mullet. Or maybe it’s the 80’s legwarmers and tights combo. Who knows? Everyone has one, no matter how old they are.

To sum my argument up, I know that we teenagers haven’t been great all the time. We have our faults, but I would like to make a humble request to give all of us a shot and get to know us not what the world tells you we are, but for what we are inside.

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