Life Out There (Growing Up) by Nadia Lawand (Dec. ’01)
“You don’t get it? You just don’t understand!” I can still hear myself uttering those words to my parents in the middle of arguments. “You don’t know me!” Well, how could they know me? After all, did I really know myself? What we really ought to be saying is, “How can you understand how I feel if I don’t even understand?”
Growing up is one of the hardest stages in life — but we all have to go through it, whether we like it or not. Our teen years tend to be a time of trials and tribulations. We change, grow, and learn so much during that short time that will take us through the rest of our lives.
Our teen years are a difficult time. We yearn to be trusted, but trust must be earned. We demand freedom but we’re still at an age where we need our parents’ protection. We strive for new experiences but try not to get caught up in peer pressure. We want to be accepted by all for who we really are, but we can’t figure out who that really is.
I look at myself and I can’t help but think back on my teen years and how difficult I was. Between all the activities I was involved in — school, friends, wanting more freedom, wanting to grow up, wanting to fit in, and the pressure from all sides — I had a tendency to take out my anger in the wrong places. Getting mad at my parents and the people closest to me didn’t help and still doesn’t. I do realize now that my parents were always on my side and will continue to be in the future. And through constant prayer and self-discipline, I will be able to do all the things I want to do, and be able to say no to the things I don’t want to do, without feeling insecure.
It feels as if we’re all alone and that nobody understands, but the one thing we’re not aware of is the web around us. Throughout these difficult years, we have a tendency to try and conquer the world alone — I know I did — but there are so many people around us: our parents, our friends, our family, our church community, and most of all, God.
So the question is, “When will it all make sense?” Well, eventually your teen years will be behind you, and you’ll be wondering how it went so fast. In the meantime, don’t try and conquer the world on your own. Your parents are only trying to help you, because they want you to succeed. So be patient with them. Embrace the challenge of your teen years, and remember, you’ll soon grow out of them.
Nadia Lawand is a first-year university student (equivalent to a sophomore) at Concordia University in Montreal, specializing in Communications and minoring in Spanish. She serves as the NAC Teen SOYO Presidential Advisor. In her spare time, she owns her own communications company in Montreal called NadiaStar Communications, Inc.
