Teenage life is the best time of one’s life.

Look around you and you will see cliques of teenagers hanging out in public places like shopping malls and bus stops, laughing and giggling amongst themselves, enjoying each other’s company. But then again, is teenage life only filled with laughter? Just flip through the newspapers and one can find articles on teenagers who committed suicide, abortion committed by teenagers due to pre marital sex and many other depressing things that teenagers are going through. So is teenage life really the best time of one’s life?

Nowadays, teenagers tend to follow an “emo” fashion trend. This could be due to peer pressure or influence from the media. Look at the one of the top twelve finalists of the “Singapore Idol”, Paul Twohill, is also into this trend, which is characterized by his wearing of tight shirts and actually having a fringe that covers his face. While is it is okay to follow the fashion trend, some teenagers have gone overboard and has even resorted to self-mutilation to fulfill a fashion trend. Examples include the slashing of their body parts, or even the wrist, which is potentially harmful. Is harming and torturing of oneself a sign of happiness at living the teenage life, especially since it’s a disturbing trend and a sign of unhappiness which is contrary to the belief that teenage hood is the prime of one’s life.

Teenagers are mostly impulsive and there are some who have done things regardless of the potential consequences. Recently, there has been a law enacted that any teenagers under the age of eighteen found in the streets late at night will have their parents notified by the police. In short, a curfew has been placed on teenagers. What does this show about how teenagers are seen and treated even by the government? That teenagers generally as a whole is seen as a group of people by the society as a group that has to be controlled or kept at home for otherwise they will be out in the streets making a din of themselves to the public. It can also be seen from this action that teenagers are not trusted to be able to make decisions that they will have to make in the future anyway, hence how can teenage life be the best time of one’s life if one is not even trusted by the society to make responsible choices?

Then again, teenage life is also one that is highly enjoyable in that one has no need to assume the burdens of a full-fledged citizen of the society. There is no need for teenagers to assume the burden of providing for a family or to even provide for themselves generally. Decisions made by teenagers also have lesser impact than that made by adults, as they generally do not determine the survival of oneself and their family. Teenagers also have no need to worry about tax increases, and most other societal issues. Hence a teenage life is often more care-free as compared to an adult’s life and other than friendships (or relationships issues) and studies, a teenager’s life is more preferable to that of an adult because of the lesser responsibilities that society requires from this group of people due to their younger age (or maturity level).

Teenage life is also the period of time in which one have more time for interaction with peers, to play and to enjoy the company of friends. Through spending time with one’s friends, the teenager is also able to learn important social skills that are not taught in class settings such as handling different types of relationships. A child below the age of twelve would hardly have the freedom to be able to spend time with friends as he or she is usually considered too young and will instead spend most of the time at home or in school. For the adult, one may be too busy working to have the time to spend with friends. On the other hand, a teenager will have both the freedom and the time to spend with friends and hence can then acquire important social skills that will serve him or her in good stead for the rest of his or her life.

The teenage life is indeed the best time of one’s life, where learning is a pleasure as it is easy for one to pick up new things. Also coupled with the newfound freedom that one acquires upon completing childhood and the lack of responsibilities that the teenager faces in comparison to the adult, the teenager life is indeed the best time of one’s life.