Jo's Assignment

Jo wrote this fun-filled paper for a home-school assignment titled, “It's Hard To Be A Teenager!”...

How my day goes, really depends on what time I wake up in the morning AKA, do I get to sleep in? Why do I like to sleep in? Because I like to sleep! I guess that's a natural thing, but part of the reason why is because I stayed up late the night before writing this! It's almost midnight and I have to work early tomorrow morning!

I am a teenager. As much as I would like to skip these adolescent years, I can't. So, I am stuck with the title! It's really hard being a teenager sometimes. Peer pressure, parent pressure, mirror pressure. As if your not already insecure enough, but then to have someone tell me that there is something wrong with me, that just puts me off the edge. Life has in fact, changed quite a bit since I was twelve. I am currently seventeen, a junior in high school, a straight B student, no girlfriend, no car, no money, and no good job to get money. Most people my age would say to me, the commonly over-used teen phrase, “Your life sucks man.” However, it's my life and I am going to tell you that it doesn't suck (all the time). I have been blessed with a lot of awesome things around me. My family, my house, my computers, and most importantly, my relationship with Christ.

Most kids my age do not have a relationship with Christ, so they do not know how to have peace and joy. Decisions that I make everyday, will either make me, or break me, and so I have to constantly make sure I am doing what's right. At times I just wish I could do whatever I want - no school, no chores.

Another hard thing teens deal with, is popularity. Popularity is along the same lines of insecurity, but a little less brutal. Everyone wants to be liked, and everyone wants to be popular. People like popular people.

I heard something that at first I thought was ridiculous, and funny.. but, now I realize there is some truth to it. “Parents are awesome until you're thirteen. Then, all of a sudden-parents get stupid, and don't know anything!” I have,(I think), matured a lot since I was thirteen. I didn't have much of a problem understanding my parents until I was fifteen. Then, it seemed like they just didn't care about my problems, or about things I like. Sometimes I would feel like they just didn't want me to have fun-because they were jealous. Now and then I feel like mom and dad don't care about what I'm going through or that they want to ruin my life. These are obviously normal thoughts for a seventeen year old son. But, I love my parents. Sure, they're not perfect, however, they're pretty close. I don't always agree with what they say, and they might be way off on something sometimes. But, I still respect their judgment, and I will always love them.

I would love to just skip these teen years, so I can mature into an adult and fully understand my parents. When I am an adult, I will not have to worry about peer pressure, maybe.

To sum up, I know that God knows what kind of things I am going through, all 53,162 of them. I know I can get through this part of my life! Life being a teenager is hard! Amen.