What It’s Like Being a Teenager
Annika Fisher-Eddy (she/they)
Editorial Team Member
I’m 16 now. Which means I’ve officially been a teenager for three years. When I was younger I used to look up to teenagers. They seemed so cool and so old. Somehow, I’m a teenager now. The time went by faster than I can count. I don’t feel like a teenager. When I was younger, teenagers seemed so much older than me than they actually were. I wanted to be one of them so badly. But now that I actually am one, it’s not as amazing as it seemed like it would be.
To be honest, some things about being a teenager are absolutely miserable, such as the effects of hormones and feeling like my parents are ruining my life. Sometimes I wish I could just skip this part of my life. However, other parts of being a teenager are wonderful. You have almost as much independence as an adult without yet having to deal with paying rent.
The first time I really acknowledged the fact that I was a teenager was when I realized I didn’t have a flat chest anymore. I got my period when I was 12 and I was already starting to fill out, but I didn’t get full breasts until I was around 13 or 14. My whole childhood I was always so excited to get breasts, so when I finally got them I was so happy.
One way I’m unlike a lot of other teenage girls is that I’m actually really proud and comfortable with the way my body looks. I love wearing crop tops and short shorts in the summer, and in the winter I wear tight long-sleeve shirts and skinny jeans. I love wearing clothing that really shows off my figure. I also have an amazing metabolism. I can pretty much eat whatever and however I want and I won’t gain much weight. And I often need to eat A LOT of food to feel full. I have gained a little more weight in the last year or so, which is a little sad because my metabolism is getting slower, but I still barely gain any weight. One thing I enjoy about being a teenager is being able to enjoy how my body looks and not have to worry about it changing. Of course, not all teenagers experience it this way. Everyone’s body develops at different rates, and a lot of teenagers don’t get this lucky. But this is one thing I’m thankful for in my personal teenage experience. And one way I’m not looking forward to being an adult is that my body will change, and I’ll have to start managing what I eat a lot more.
I also enjoy having more independence. For one thing, I got my first Smart Phone as a teenager, and that already gives me more independence because I can go to more places without my parents. I’m also old enough now to have a job, which means I have started to earn money myself. I’m also finally old enough to drive. I haven’t gotten my license yet, but I have my learners’ permit and I’m taking driving lessons. Once I get my license I’ll be even more independent.
As a teenager, I’ve also now experienced having romantic and sexual feelings about people. Before I was a teenager, I wondered what having a crush felt like. It didn’t seem like something I’d ever experience. I wanted to date, but only because I was curious about it, and there wasn’t anyone specific that I wanted to date. But now that I’m a “hormonal teenager” as they say, I definitely know what a crush feels like. And I know more than what a crush feels like. I know what it feels like to have deep desires to do certain things with certain people.
There’s also, of course, high school. In high school, for the first time I’m making friends that I might be really close with for my whole life. I’ve also experienced the ups and downs of dating, and I know what it feels like to go through a breakup. I also know what it’s like to leave something that meant a lot to me. High school has given me experiences, both good and bad, that I never would’ve had otherwise. I’ve learned so much about life, and the things I’ve learned in high school will really help me in adulthood. Part of what high school is, in my opinion, is a level of schooling for teenagers where they can learn how to deal with the things that they might have to deal with as an adult.
However, in a lot of ways, being a teenager can be hard. Hormones have made me have a lot more anxiety than I had before I was a teenager, and I also have mood swings, and those can suck. Sometimes I even take out my moodiness on my parents, which I feel bad about. Lately, I’ve also been crying a lot more than I used to. I’ve never been a cryer. My parents have even said that I didn’t cry much when I was a baby. But as a teenager, I’ve cried a lot more and sometimes I cry over seemingly nothing. Of course, this gets worse before my period. I’ve luckily never had terrible PMS symptoms. I also don’t usually have very severe cramps. But I have always had horrendously irregular periods to the point where sometimes I can go months at a time without having one. This means that sometimes the only way I know when my period is coming is when my moodiness gets worse.
Also, as a teenager, it often feels like my parents are ruining my life. I think it’s a universal feeling for teenagers to feel like no one understands them, especially their parents. Obviously, my whole life, even before I was a teenager, there were things that my parents didn’t let me do, or things they made me do, that I didn’t like. But until I was a teenager, those things never bothered me much. It was annoying, but not maddening. But now that I’m a teenager, sometimes I get mad at my parents for those things. Part of it is hormones, but it’s also that I’m at an age now where my brain and body are preparing to be an adult, so getting restrictions put on me by parents has a lot more of an affect on me because it reminds my brain that I’m basically an adult but I’m also still a kid.
Being an almost-adult is also stressful in other ways. I have to start thinking seriously about things like college, and what I want to do for a living. I’ve known my entire life that I want to go into medicine. But now I have to think about what specific field of medicine I want to do. I’m also not looking forward to applying for colleges next year. I’ve also pictured myself going to college for my whole life, but I didn’t think about the process leading up to that until now. And while I'm excited to graduate high school, go to college, and start a full-time career, all the things I need to do leading up to that is really stressful right now.
So to all the children out there who can’t wait to be a teenager, don't be too excited. While there are some things about being a teenager that you’ll love, there’s also a lot of it that kind of sucks. Be prepared to feel like you’d rather that your life be over, wish you could get rid of your parents, or wish you could either go back to being a kid or go straight to being an adult. I can guarantee you, it’s going to feel like that sometimes. But also, don’t expect your teenage years to be absolutely miserable. Because there are also things that have happened to me in the past few years that I’m so thankful for and I never want to get rid of. Being a teenager can be both amazing and torturous. It’s a blessing and a curse. Just know, it won’t last forever. Being a teenager is only six years long, which is a tiny portion of your whole life. So you should still cherish your teenage years while they last.