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Teenage -
the period of transition of a person’s life from childhood
to adulthood is the phase where a person makes most of
his life’s crucial choices, weaves most of his dreams,
makes most of the mistakes and gains a learning experience
all through these surreal seven years of his life!
The initial
stage of teenage is just like that stage of the pot-making
where the mud is all wet and a rough shape given by the
potter. It requires warmth of the tender hands, lots of
pressure and continual gentle pulling - upwards and outwards.
And that’s what teenage is all about.
The mental
stress, of doing better than everyone, of keeping up with
parents’ expectations and dreams for us, is sky rocketing.
The peer pressure just adds fuel to the fire. In this
time of cut-throat competition, we’re all on the super
highway to exhaustion. The ‘mad rat-race’ has become such
an important part of our lives that it has put us in a
catch-22 situation. Its like either you are in the race
or you’re nowhere. And no teenager would like to be a
Nobody, would he?
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As
a result, there are increased stress levels, wrong eating habits,
dwindling lifestyles which further result in hormonal imbalance
and health problems. Teenage is not just the stage where we grow
as a person, but also, the time for physical growth. It needs
proper diet at equal intervals. But in the present time, we are
so engrossed and pressured to be the ‘best’ that we push our limits
to the end of our tether, adding so much water in the yet-to-be-hardened
pot, that it falls apart. The newspapers are always filled with
yet another teenage suicide due to the inability to handle the
immense mental pressure. Did the potter want his pot to be broken?
No. Similarly, our
parents never want us to fall apart because of their expectations;
they indeed want to make us stronger and better. But the famous
‘teenage temper’ is not a myth. This is the time when we’re at
our most rebellious stage, not ready to being told what to do
and what not to do.
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What may
help though is an easy communication between parents and
children. Parents should be understanding enough to recognize
their child’s potential as well as wishes. They should
be tender enough so that their children can trust them
with their feelings & fears. And in return, the child
must be aware of the fact that their parents are twice
their ages, hence twice the experience of life. They may
not be as techno-savvy as their children are, but they
know enough about life and about what can be harmful for
their children. So we must listen to them, put forth our
arguments, and have an open discussion about the problems
we face in the most important stage of our lives- the
teenage.
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The
kind of books that we read & the kind of message that we
take from them is the kind that can make us or break us. Just
like the right amount of sunlight at all the right angles is
needed to harden the pot, similarly, the right kind of awareness,
a balanced diet, and a healthy discussion with friends and family
must be instilled in a teenager to make the cradle of ‘happy
balanced and successful life’, a life time pillar!
Contributed
By: Mansi
Sharma (learnt then, learning still...always have, always
will...) mansi.s1992@yahoo.com
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