[serious] Teens of Reddit - is there something you'd like to know that you are too afraid/embarrassed to ask in person?

Yes. For me personally, being a teenager was so stressful partially because my hormones were seriously out of whack. That combined with the stress of trying to figure out what you want to "be" when you grow up, dealing with friends and relationships that are similarly inexperienced, trying to live up to your parents' wishes even when you disagree with them, constantly being the new/ young/ inexperienced one at work and school... I don't miss being a teenager at all.

Being an adult is difficult, you have to learn how to pay your bills and be responsible, but once you figure those things out, you have so much more freedom as well. My body isn't growing and changing as drastically, so it is rare that my emotions or hormones get the best of me. My friends and I are all more chill and everyone realizes that enjoying life is way more fun than getting caught up in petty drama. I haven't taken a dollar from my parents for 9 years now, so when they disagree with my choices I don't really have to listen. My relationship with them has also become much more positive since I moved out and got some space. I have experience, credibility, and I'm much more articulate than I was as a teenager, so people aren't so dismissive at work and in general. For me, age has also brought greater self-confidence, acceptance of my strengths and weaknesses, and I have a much easier time not taking it personally when people are jerks to me--it is easier to see how people's actions are often not about you at all, but a reflection of the struggles they're going through or their faults as people.

Whatever you're going through, it can get better! Just make choices that send you in the direction you want to go, and build your independence.

/r/AskReddit Thread Parent