By Penelope Zygarowski, Burlington, VT
Being a teenager means ...
- Letting go of old friendships even when you don't want to
- Getting up every time we fall down, which is more often than we can count
- Getting a bad grade on a test and vowing to study harder next time
- Meeting new people you wouldn't have thought to be friends with
- Getting through the hard times with a book and a shot of espresso
- Doing stupid things and getting caught
- Crying a lot, but always feeling better after
- Singing along to breakup songs when we are home alone
- Livin
- g the way we want and not caring what others think
- Journaling and writing poetry as therapy
- Letting someone see that we are hurting and letting them help us
- Late-night talking and watching “Stranger Things”
- Worrying about the future and wishing time would slow
- Wishing time would move faster so we can finally grow up
- Turning in assignments at 11:59 p.m.
- Living happily and being kind even when we don't want to
- Giving everybody a chance to forgive, but not forget
- Making big decisions and not being afraid to ask for help
- Reading lots of romance novels
- Cleaning our rooms when that pile of laundry gets a little too high
- Learning to love life even when we might not at times
But most of all, being a teenager reminds us that we are alive and things aren't always as bad as they seem.