Going Home Again
"There is a danger of being misunderstood here." I found this sentence to be very powerful for a lot of reasons. I think most teenagers can relate to this. He's starting college and he goes in knowing no one. On top of that, he is also a minority. It's scary to be going into a big place with those two things against you. I'm sure we can all relate to that coming to Florida State. I also feel as teenagers, we could be misunderstood in a lot of ways. We are expected to act like adults, but then get treated as children by authorities. We're too old to do the things we love, but too young to partake in older activities. This time period is often confusing and we could be dangerously misunderstood. Especially coming to a new college and leaving all your old friends you've know forever, I could see how it could be potentially dangerous to one's mental stability in a new environment.
I really agree with everything you said in your post. We, as teenagers, are treated like children but are expected to act like adults. It is very counterintuitive thought. Being misunderstood is about the only thing teenagers get. No one tries to see things from their (our) eyes. Instead, everything we think is written off as adolescent and naive. it's hard as a teenager to hold a conversation with an adult without them acting superior in every thought. It makes you think that they've grown stubborn in their old ways and that they can't accept new and youthful ideas. Explaining something you believe in to an adult as a teenager is much like trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the same quote, too. I completely agree with you in how you said, "We are expected to act like adults, but then get treated as children by authorities. We're too old to do the things we love, but too young to partake in older activities." I can definitely see this true in many regards, but it can be easily exemplified with the drinking age in the United States. At eighteen, we are old enough to vote and have our say in American government, die for our country in war, and be held to a higher degree of punishment by the law compared to that of a minor, but can't have a beer at a restaurant. A change in environment can always be scary, as humans are typically prone to have adverse reaction to massive change, but overcoming this change can occur when attacked with the right attitude.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. I feel like we are all in this awkward stage. My parents always tell me, "You are an adult now", but never forget to remind me they are in charge of me, even with being 220 miles away from them. It makes it difficult to know exactly where we stand in this world. Each of us may be adults but we still (generally) do not make all of our own decisions without the guidance of another adult.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your posts as well as previous comments. My parents would tell me I can't do certain things because i'm "not old enough" but at the same time would say "you're an adult now" every time they needed me to do something else. There is not much that can be done, at this age adults will treat us certain ways and we have to live with it. I also relate to coming to FSU and not knowing anybody, and although i'm not a minority I came from NY and its very difficult situation at first for everyone.
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