‘There is a big difference between enjoying your youthful days and destroying your future’. Those are the words of a senior friend of mine that I can never forget.
There are many adolescents out there thinking they have to try out many things right before they become adults, they think the age they are in is for them to ‘explore’ (as they would put it). Some of my friends have tagged me ‘boring’ because I have a different opinion about what this age is for and I would love to share it with you.
First of all, like I love to say, you don’t have to fit into everyone’s definition of ‘interesting’. Some set of peoples’ definition of interesting is when you have had sex with at least 3 girls before you clock 20, some define interesting as when you can drink 3 bottles of beer in a sitting. On the other hand, some people’s definition of interesting is when they have an A in that course they used to have challenges with. Some people’s definition of interesting is when at the age of 20, people can point at them and say: ‘he is the reason why I made it this far’, or, ‘if not for him, I wouldn’t have been this good in this area of my life’, or, ‘if not for her, I might not have achieved my dreams’. Which category do you belong to?
Believe me, interesting is not when you are into something you can never be proud to say in public, neither is it when you ruin other people’s life. Interesting is when you have made impact both in your life and in other people’s life. But most adolescents do not seem to understand this.
The Adolescence age is not for you to live life ‘anyhow’, it is not for you to fool around and think you would get things right when you become an adult. It is not the age to keep running away from responsibilities and other things that would stress and stretch you, it is not the age to be looking around for the shortcut(s) to success, and it is not the age to neglect corrections. The adolescence age is the time to build your life.
Whatever habits and/or beliefs you instill into yourself as an adolescent are what determine who you would be as an adult. Don’t you ever fall into the trap of thinking that you would become a better person when you become an adult, it is a big lie! The older you grow, the more life reveals itself to you, the more you grow older, the more responsibilities dawn on you. When you become an Adult, life would demand the traits and skills you have built in you as an adolescent, and if you have nothing to present, you would face the consequences.
Am I saying you should not enjoy yourself? No, I am not. But I am saying you shouldn’t fall into the trap of engaging yourself in what you would regret later in life.
Realize that it is your life and the responsibility is for you to take.
As an adolescent, you should live intentionally and not ‘anyhow’. There should be a reasonable reason behind every action you take. Live beyond now, and think of the future, think of your future kids, think of the generation coming after you; how do you want them to define you? What would they say about you?
The adolescent age (not when you become an adult) is when you should consider these questions. You don’t have to be the same as the ones around you, you can be different. Again, it is your life.
Whether you belief it or not, the Adolescent age is the most important age of your life: The actions you take, the words you say, the things you believe, the decisions you make, the habits you grow as an adolescent go a long way to form your life. If you ‘miss’ it as an adolescent, then you may never get it right. It is that serious.
You are probably thinking, as an adolescent, that no responsibility is on you as your parents or guardian is there for you and the ones around you seem not to expect much from you as they all say you are still young. So, you think you are free and would worry when you become an adult!
{Read: 5 Myths About Being an Adult}
If that’s your belief then I am smiling at you right now. Not because of anything else but because when you become the adult you have been waiting for, you would be shocked as you would realize that you never built any skill nor attribute that would make you the adult you have been thinking you would be.
Guess what? The ones that used to pamper you and say you are still young while you are an adolescent are the ones that would first make you realize you have failed as they would now be expecting funds, words of wisdom, composure, and so on from you.
The real world, on the other hand, would be waiting for you to see what you can do, what you can offer, the problems you can solve, and ‘what is in your head’. And because you thought that’s when you need to start building those traits, you would be neglected as the world passes by you, family members become disappointed in you, friends pass you, and this might leave you frustrated and make you lay blames on others for the rest of your life.
{Read: Are You Ready for that Success Moment?}
So, dear friend, before you transit to being an adult, renew your mind, it is your best asset. Have a goal for your life and pursue it, build valuable traits and skills into yourself, and reference God in all your dealings (trust me it is not boring to be a ‘God-freak’, in fact that is the only thing that is guaranteed to keep you sane in this world we live in).
Stop ‘fooling around’ and use this time to improve yourself. Think about the adult you want to be now and start working on it. The future would thank you for it.
{Related: The True Essence of Adolescence}
How are you managing this period of adolescence to ensure you have a great future as an adult?
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Teens Meet Outreach 
Yes, the adolescent age is really a period of life that calls for much attention. In this important period, one can either get it right or wrong. And it’s a time to pay attention to the operation of the mind.
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