Rioting, rebelling and disobeying. Those are some of the words used to associate today’s generation of youth. However, that doesn’t apply to all of us, it is such harsh categorisation. In a world where we, as a human race, are trying to rectify the mistakes of our ancestors, the main one being segregation. Why are teenagers being segregated into being the dangerous age where everything we do is a terrible mistake?

 

Too young to already start bearing the burdens of adulthood. It seems as if every generation is growing up faster than the last. For example during the age of our parents, children our age would not behave or even be expected to act as mature as the youth of our generation does. Every single one of our actions will not be mature, will not be thought out properly, and some may be extremely rash actions. However, in the end, we are still humans and so we should be allowed mistakes. Not only do we have to act in a mature manner, but we also have to be on track with the tonne load of work that we are assigned; get exceptional marks on all our exam; decide the course of our entire future and maintain an active social life. Does this sound fair? It may not be fair, but that is the way our society runs today.

 

The more I think about it, the more complex society’s views on teenagers really seem to me. People treat us like young children but expect us to speak and behave like adults. It is a common fact that teenagers go through many hormonal changes, therefore their behaviour may sometimes be deemed as inappropriate. To complicate matters even more, at times we are addressed to in a patronising tone that provokes us to act like children. However that is not seen as appropriate by society as teenagers are expected to act in a mature manner, just like adults.

 

In spite of all the negatives and gloomy factors of teenage years that I have mentioned above, it is not all that bad. For example, youth these days are extremely lucky to have the facilities that they are provided with now, and no matter how much we complain, we know that we are being looked after well and we are much loved. The memories of childhood are treasured and stays with us forever. So despite all the low points, make sure to enjoy and cherish the wonders that youth brings.

Swathi Nambiar, Newstead Wood School