Teenagers are supposed to be obnoxious. Why, you ask? Simply stop and think: If you are in-between the wondrous years of childhood and the self-determination of adulthood—and cannot reap the rewards of either–how are you supposed to behave? When you were inundated with pubescent hormones for the first time, how did you act? Teenagers are famous for discounting the intelligence of their parents or blocking well-meant words of advice. Why? So they can learn later on in life how life experience does matter. Doesn’t everyone have to have a time in his or her life where rationality is set aside? As humans, we cannot truly understand something unless we have experienced it’s opposite. Can you really learn to be deeply happy unless you have known the depths of sadness? The teenage years are just the beginning of this process. How did you learn your greatest lessons? Can you truly understand the illusions underlying your personality without falling in the holes of false assumptions? It doesn’t make sense to see early on in life how challenging things can be. If we knew how hard some walls would be to climb, we’d never try. If you are a parent or a teacher, say this mantra slowly under your breath, “Teenagers are supposed to be obnoxious, foolish and weird. Teenagers are supposed to be obnoxious, foolish and weird…” Remember this every time you want to (over) react to a teen’s really bone-headed prank or action.
Eduction for your life. Transforming the world one school at a time.
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