Teenager vs. Adult
4:11 p.m.

When I was a teenager, I thought that everything would be better once I became an adult. I'd be responsible for myself: no parental rules, no curfew, no pressure to fit in at school. I'd finally be accepted for who I am. All those years of teenaged torment and angst would pay off.

What a crock of shit.

The same pressures exist, but on a much different scale. Now, if I fail, I have to get through it on my own. I have to pick up the pieces all by myself and start over. And adults are just as petty, self-centered, egotistical, selfish, and back-stabbing as teenagers. Trust me. They just don't get detention for treating each other like shit. They never get grounded. They still have every opportunity to fuck up your life.

At least while I was a teenager, my bills were paid. Classes are much easier than sitting through board meetings. Homework is more appealing than designing and giving a presentation to a bunch of men in three-piece suits on the annual budget forecast. Lowrider jeans are not acceptable attire for work, no matter how cute they are.

And crushes that are so bad they hurt still exist. Love is lost, hearts are broken, trust is betrayed. Adulthood is lonely too so friendships are based on whether or not you can accept or overlook the faults of the people around you, rather than being based on common interests.

For the teenagers out there, I'd like to offer you hope, but it doesn't get a whole lot better than where you are now. I guess you'll just start to accept that pain and struggle are part of the human condition. But apathy is not the same as freedom.

Adulthood has its good points, sure, but so does being a teenager. It's just hard to see it while you're going through the rough times. In ten years, your powers of hindsight will be tested too.

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