Plus there was escaping soul crushing poverty. I worked 40+ hours per week through high school (nights and weekends). Took on two jobs in the summer. Never had "my own room" or any of that fancy horseshit. I had to live in a run-down apartment with super-low ceilings I couldn't stand up straight in (I was 6'3" [1.95m] tall by age 15 or so), and I had bills to pay, and I had to help my immigrant parents figure out how to do really basic running-a-household-type things all the time and watch out for the younger siblings.

And ON TOP OF THAT, I had to deal with all that normal high school angst nonsense. I got into fights. I lived in a shit neighborhood where they police you like assholes, especially if you're a teenage kid, so I got a small juvenile record for minor crap like possession of alcohol as a minor. And basic stupid shit like that that kids have to deal with.

I hustled. Got scholarships, both for being poor and for being lucky enough to be really good at standardized tests. Got into college. Had to work full time through that to afford rent and take out loans too. By 22, I'm making more money and living in a nicer neighborhood than I've ever lived in my life. I'm not even locking my doors. I've got a car. All my shit's straight. Clothes are correct, not misfitting hand-me-downs. Cops treat me reasonably - nicer neighborhoods change all that. I hadn't been in a fight in years. I'm eating way better food. I've even got healthcare and dental and could start fixing my teeth that I should have had sealed/filled when I was younger.

Holy fucking shit were the years 11-18 stressful. I'm guessing OP's experience was significantly different than mine...