The teenage years are the best years of one’s life

‘The teenage years are the best years of one’s life.’ Would you agree with this view? (CAMBRIDGE NOV 1994)

In Singapore’s context, the teenage years are not necessary the best years of one’s life. The short seven years of teen period would be one tenth of an average Singaporean’s life. How sad would it be to consider only a tenth of your life time wonderful? In any case, is it really memorable?

At the age of 12, (the last age to be considered a child), we are supposed to go through Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) which determines where we will continue our education. After a series of mugging and revising, we then proceed to take our examinations, wait for the results, and get posted to a totally new environment to begin our teenage lives.

If you say marking the start of our teenage years with an examination would indicate a start of the golden years, then what’s next? For those of us who proceed on to secondary schools, we will have to continue the struggle to stay competitive in today’s world. The following four years, would be utilized for pursuing the “O” levels’ certificate. Achieving that qualification is not enough. In fact, we are expected to Ace through it. This struggle to attain that ‘A’ grade alone will bring much misery or for some, it costs them their lives.

Many teenagers might feel that they did not fulfilled their parents expectations, and in the course of study, got overly depressed, and paid off their lives. This may also result, as failure to accomplish their goal caused them to feel insecure, to an extent that they lost the desire to live. On the other hand, those who did manage to conquer the exam might not have done well even after putting in much efforts, thus, crumbling down their self-esteem. As for the few industrious students who did manage to sail through and achieved flying colours, they would be driven to do even better in the next round- “A” levels’. With this it marks the end of the 16th birthday.

After a whole four years of education and receiving the “Ordinary” certificate, about 20%-30% of the cohort would then proceed to the “Advanced” level. This, in fact, is another two years of highly intensive study, which will determine the qualification of university. Once again, the whole ritual of the examination is repeated. By the time the tedious cycle ends, we would already be 18 years’ old. This is actually the second last year of being a teenager. In other words, they do have a year or so, to enjoy.

As for rough 60% of the cohort who chose to enroll in polytechnics, they will continue a series of tough fight for their diploma. The average length of a course is three years, so by the time they have consistently worked and achieved their diploma, they would have been 19 years of age, which also implies that they are no longer teenagers.

Basically this vicious cycle not only cause stress to the teenagers, it also brings crippling of self esteem to those who pinned high hopes on themselves. This process is also costly, as it consumes time, tears, sweat, joy, fun and just about everything esle.

Without proper time management, preparing for the examination will deprive the teenagers of fun. They will find themselves being coped up at home all day long without proper ‘ventilation’, whereby they can enjoy themselves. For those who utilized time to its fullest potential, they are also unable to have much fun, as the schedule is really too tight. Thus, teenage years cannot be described as the golden years of one’s life, as much of this period is dedicated to the ritual and little or no time is left for the enjoyable activities.

This might be the reason why teenagers are described as being rebellious or “emo” a new term to describe dark teenagers. (“Emo fashion is characterised by teens wearing dark T-shirts, a little undersized or deliberately worn down to look old. Their choice of sneakers is Converse canvas shoes. Look closer and these might have words like 'pain' scribbled in red ink or a drawing of a broken heart. But the defining trademark for emo kids has to be the heavily lined eyes and long fringed hair which covers half their face. ” ‘ Another tell-tale sign - they listen to angst-filled music from bands like Hawthorne Heights, Aiden, The Used, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, which performed here earlier this month. ’) March 19, 2007 from ‘parents, beware the emo kids’

Teenage years are a crucial part of one’s life as it is a period of time where these young adults experiment with different methods of living, and characters in search of one that fits them. Teenagers yearn to have an identity unique to themselves or their cliques, and this explains why they want to be different in terms of dressing, or even behaviors.

The ‘emo’ lots are just another typical example of a group of teenagers that want to be different, and get attention from the public. Unfortunately, these people clad in black are often linked with people who take drugs and party all night long. The kind of music that appeals to them is seen in the same light. This then caused a generally negative misunderstanding, which equates people who like to dress in black to be people who are likely to have habits of self mutilation.

To me, the way you dress and behave simply reflects the way you feel about life, and the way you treasure yourself. By trying out various identities, teenagers think that they will be able to ‘discover their true self’. It does not mean that they must adhere to the stereotype, as it might just be one of the many personalities that they are trying on.

Teenage years are an important part of one’s life, as this is the period of time where many important decisions are made. For instance, what course you should take, what should you further or major in, what kind of career you want, and basically, what you want to do with your life.

Having so much on your semi-matured mind is devastating. The big questions that seem to be far need immediate answers. Though you just entered teen-hood, you already have to plan for your future, and this thought alone is enough to crumble any weak minded. Add to it the testing of abilities through seemingly endless examinations which you are expected to excel in, in order to attain your dream. The may seem to be pushing teenagers a bit too hard.

Anyway, this antsy suffered by teenagers have been scientifically proven. (Part of the reason for adolescent misery is hormonal. In a recent edition of the journal, Nature Neuroscience, scientists reported that the hormone tetrahydropregnanalone (THP for short), which calms adults and young children, actually works in reverse with pubescents.) March 25, 2007 It's tough being a teen By Colin Goh. And since teenagers do not get to mix around with other age groups, they tend to be a narcissistic. They are the centre of their lives, yet ironically they want to be accepted by their peers. This contradiction caused many to lose direction in life, as they have concern only about their lives, live in their own world, and they close up to other. At the same time, they are also screaming for attention, and succumbing to peer pressure, in various forms.

Having so many things in their hands, teenagers will feel overwhelmed. With the constant good-intended ‘reminders’ (a.k.a nagging) from parents, they will naturally be irritated. This, in turn, leads to a series of self questioning of existence and of purpose for living. This then forms a deadly cycle, which goes back to the ambition once again, which presses for them to work harder in order to realize their dreams. Having stuck in this mess, they then want to turn to ways of easing their pain, which goes back to the issue of being emo all over again.

Thus, I will not agree that teenage years are best years, as the burden of making the life’s important decision lies in these years. Of which, this is also the time where hormones are functioning to a major disadvantage. You are searching for your identity, your meaning of life there yet at the same time you also have to cope with acceptance by those you treasure. All these will definitely rob people off their joy and peace.