Ava Will
Being a teenager is really tough and there is not one person who has not had a hard time struggling with this age. It's that time of life when we are confused on what to do with life. We obviously look up to our elders to guide us and give us advice about life. Though most of the advice that is given is either pointless, not given from the perspective of the teen or is too vague to make a difference really.
As a teen what you are constantly bombarded with is advice! People will seek you out to tell you what lessons they have learned from life, the hardships they went through and how they got their life sorted together. Most of the time people don’t realize that teenagers hate being advised all the time and they know that the adults they looked up to as kids are actually a mess. The best advice you will ever get as a teenager is that be yourself and don’t try to ape others. Being authentic is something teens strive to do, but ironically they enjoy aping someone they look up to and are more comfortable being someone else than themselves. This someone else can be a famous senior or a celebrity. The truth remains that teenagers are uncomfortable in their own skin and the only great advice you can give them is to be authentic. Moreover, don’t belittle them for who they are, allow them to be expressive and open and let them develop a personality of their own.
The best advice that you can give to a teenager is to understand what they want and not to blindly set their goals and ape the passions of other people. No matter how strange your dreams look to others, in the end, they are your dreams. You will be happy doing what you want to do in life a decade from now if the choice is yours. Just because all the bright classmates want to be doctors does not mean you have to be a doctor as well. If you want to be a guitarist then don’t wait for tomorrow and just pick a guitar today and start strumming. More and more people turn their passions into a regular job and not only do they earn well, but they are also deeply satisfied. The best advice for life is that you start working on what you want from today itself. Things are always harder when you start them from scratch but at this age, you have time as well as more prospects. Years from now when you are stuck in a cubicle of a multinational, you will yearn for that time when you could have given what you love a try. Taking a chance is all it takes to change your life, there is no guarantee that you will be successful, but at least you would have tried. Also if nothing else you would have gained knowledge and could always take it further as a hobby.
The other thing that a teenage always dreads is school, looking back they are the best years, but while living it, they can be a mixed bag of good and bad things. School is a learning ground, but it can really be a tough place as competition is heavy and every mistake that you make is scrutinized. Elders have this bad habit of calling teenagers dumb or stupid , the words may vary but the effect is the same. Years that can actually build the self-esteem and confidence of a teen becomes a phase where he or she is constantly put down. The best advice for a student that an adult can give in this stage is for them to understand that they are learners just like the elders around. Being a learner means that mistakes are inevitable and only through them will you learn to avoid making them in the future. When you look up at others, you think how successful and perfect they are, but behind that picture perfect image is years of struggle. Everyone has made their share of mistakes and only through them did they get to learn about life and success. Concepts that are easy for an adult to decipher are mostly difficult for a teenager to understand. This does not mean they are stupid; it means that they are young and it takes time for them to understand or grasp things. Understanding this yourself is the key to giving the best advice for students as you will not judge them for their mistakes but explain them to learn from them and not be ashamed of them.
Being parents to teenagers means a lot of patience, a lot of understanding and also a lot of love. The role of a parent is to nurture the child and nurturing means loving them unconditionally and not just when they listen to you or outperform the neighboring kid. The best advice ever for a teen is a reassurance that they are loved, and as a parent, you are proud of everything they have achieved and have full faith in them. The process of having a great self-esteem starts from home, and it is the parent who plays a great role in making sure that the child grows up confident and self-assured. As a father, it is important that the teenager knows that you have their back and you trust them. It is harder for a child to go against his or her parent when they know that they are trusted and loved. The best advice from a dad to a teen can be an honest conversation about what they did in their teens and what they wish they could have changed. This is harder said than done but it will work wonders.
All the advice that teenagers get at this point in their life is about career, life, and other things. No one really focuses on them and understands that they are going through a tough phase in their life. Their bodies are changing, and their face is filled with acne and all of a sudden they are no longer kids but are referred to as adults. Yet, at the same time, the elders insist on treating them as kids. In this dilemma, a teen ends up being too hard on himself and has zero acceptance of who he is. This is the phase to realize that you are special and you are unique. All the talents that you hold and your view on the world around is fundamental in shaping a better tomorrow. Be proud of who you are and discover yourself, don’t be a sheep that blindly follows the masses but learn to form your own personality.
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