Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Being a Teenager

My older son will be 13 tomorrow, beginning his voyage into the dreaded teens.

He is very excited about what is really the first of that run of birthdays - 16, 18, 21, 30, 40, 65, (Grandpa Simpson voice on) erm, now let me see I was born in..., erm, Abraham Lincoln!! I truly hope that his teens are a wonderful time for him, and will do everything in my power to make them so.

My overriding memories of being a teenager are awful, I hated it all: School, other teenagers, life in general. I was a very miserable teenager who did not want anything to do with the rest of the world. Thinking about it, I only had one person who I thought of as a friend right through my teens. I only see him rarely now, he is a bit of a nomad, but each time we meet up it is like were never apart, seeming to pick up the conversation where we left off, maybe 5 years previously. I rapidly drove away the rest, picking up a few new ones, mainly centred around bands I was in and people I played Dungeons and Dragons with. By the end of my teens I was bordering on reclusive, I guess. Then it all changed as I entered my 20s, when the girl who became my wife dragged me back into the real world.

I would not relive my teens for a billion pounds.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I wouldn't desire to do it again either! Most of the time, I enjoy the season of life I am in now!

Terri said...

I'm with you John. I hated my teen years... feeling like I had to fit a very specific mold in order to fit in and of course I didn't. Life after high school was SO much better!

Ali said...

I'm one of those weird people that loved being a teenager. I had so much fun during those years, and am still friends with many of the people I went to school with...it's funny, I was just talking about this earlier - saying how much fun I had as a teen, almost as much as I do now.
But who doesn't have fun as the class clown, right?

amazingbrenda said...

My teenage years weren't so bad. I guess I didn't like my Jr. High years so very much as much as High School. It did get better. whew!

I do have to say..I hated the having to fit in part. Why does it have to be so complicated. Why can they just like you just the way u are? I'm sure your son has great moral support from you. Hope it turns out fun for him.;)