I have learned more within the past year than I have in my whole life. Even though that is an exaggeration, I still have learned a lot.
First off being a teenager these days is very complicated when it doesn’t need to be. Guy’s can’t stop thinking about girls and most girls are beyond that and are stuck with sleazeball boyfriends. Occasionally kids get lucky and find someone really good for who they are at that time and their relationship lasts for years, though that is extremely rare. The truth is if sex and those sorts of things were not so pushed in peoples faces then maybe guys would back off a little. Personal space is one of those important things to respect and if you don’t, that relationship has gone out the window. The truth is, teens need to be patient. I haven’t found anyone yet but, it is very rewarding to have friends I can trust with my life. I tread carefully because I know that guys and girls are both evil scary monsters, it just happens to be that some are less than others. Now if I can only drill this into my head everytime I see a pretty lady.
On a more serious note, I have learned a valuable lesson; life is the most beautiful, wonderful, and spectacular gift we have, and it must be respected. I know what it is like to be depressed, but if there is one thing I have learned is that trying to take your own life is not the answer. Yes, life is painful and some people can be real jerks, but to be alive is amazing. To be able to wake up and say “Hey I have today, what can I do to make it worth doing again and again and again?” and “What can I do to make me a better person?” is wonderful, even if it doesn’t hit me in that instant.
My dad tried to explain what it is like to see childbirth and hold a baby when it is hot and fresh out of the oven. I can only imagine and wait until that day comes. Not to mention when someone is dying and holding hands with their loved ones, that moment when they look into eachother’s eyes one last time and know not only that they loved each other, but that their lives were intertwined until that final breath.
I may be depressed, enraged, and a big goofy teenager, but when I open my eyes to the world, the light shines in the darkest places. I look forward to the rest of my life and all of it’s crazy adventures that I may endure.
I thank Street Sense for the new life and light it has given me – for the new opportunities it gives me every day I work. From the people that I meet, to the articles I read, I continue to learn. And learning is the key to my, and the world’s, future.
