Getting Old and Snarky

A few times lately I've had to catch myself from feeling cranky when around teenagers. Especially when the teenagers are obnoxiously loud, wearing nose rings, and sporting orange hair. My first instinct is to think of them as idiots.

Then my inner logic takes hold and I remember a bit what it was like to be a teenager. Those were different and more innocent days but the only difference between teenagers of the 1950's and the teenagers of 2007 is that we were not exposed to the glut of sex and violence we see everywhere now.

Teenagers are only unfinished adults. It's frightening to be 16 and, on the surface, believe you know it all but, underneath, realize you still have little control over your own life. It probably doesn't help that all the adults in your life tell you to forget about having fun and concentrate on getting your education.

But no-body told me that when I was 16 because no-one cared enough about me. Boy, did I have fun...and ended up married and pregnant at 17.

I wish there was a softer way of encouraging teenagers to concentrate more on their education because it will determine the adult life they will live long after their teen years are over.

A young person told me recently that they use marijuana recreationally. How can I explain to them that using marijuana on a regular basis is just as dangerous as getting drunk on a regular basis. The young don't want to be told what they can or can't do so we can only hope that our reasoning doesn't fall on deaf ears.

I remember how often my heart was broken when I was a teenager. Sometimes it was by a boyfriend but more often it was because of less important events...loss of a girlfriend, insult by a stranger, sad book, sad movie. These are minor things in our lives but, as a teenage, I felt the losses strongly enough to make me want to die. Teenagers' emotions are on high volume until they become mature enough to learn how to deal with them.

Now, when I see those orange haired, pierced nosed kids, I can feel my heart soften for the turmoil they're going through. My grandmother used to say that she'd like to be young again but know what she knows now. I couldn't understand that in the 1950's but I do today.

P.S. "Snarky" is a Canadian expression for feeling cranky or crabby. I discovered a few years ago that Americans aren't familiar with that word.