1600 Words Essay on Teenage (free to read)

Teenage is the period of twilight between childhood and youth. So far as physic cal appearances are concerned, the period of childhood is receding and the youth is approaching. Psychologically, however, it is a great mess. Many of the tendencies and behaviour patterns of the childhood persist and create embarrassment for the teenager as well as for his parents.

He appears a grown up to the outsiders, but many a time, he clings to his mother or father for support and fortifies his arguments with “my father says” or “my mother tells” which provokes an amused and at times a sarcastic response from the outsiders.

Teenage is the time when a personality is struggling to be born. This is, however, a peculiar struggle. It is not against the enemies or the outside world alone. It is an internal, a psychological struggle against a part of one’s self. It is also, at time, a struggle against one’s-mother or father as also against those near and dear ones whom one has been used to take for granted for unconditional support.

After the initial turbulence of early childhood and constant conflicts of middle childhood, one becomes a good child regularly going to school and adopting a pat­tern of behaviour approved by one’s parents. The school report of a promising and well behaved student has given a sense of relief and joy to the parents.

One has grown accustomed to the patronizing way the relations treat him and does all little things he is asked to do by elders. At what point of time, puberty steps into one’s life one does not know. But with its onset, almost everything – parents, siblings, peers, and strangers – gets transformed never to be the same again.

Unreserved awe and respect for the parents is the first casualty of adolescence. When the adolescent sees his businessman father making extortions from his client or cheating the Income Tax Authorities, he is shocked.

His father has been exhorting him since his early childhood that one should be fair to the fellow citizens and abide by the law of one’s country. The hypocrisy of elders, mainly his own parents, shatters his belief in the goodness of the world.

When the phone bell rings at lunch time, the adolescent is told by his father to tell the caller that the father is not at home. The value of speaking the truth no longer remains an article of faith with the child.

Anju adolescent has to interact with his neighbours, school-mates, teachers and grocer un aided by the presence of his partners as has been the case in his childhood, and hell finds the selfish attitudes and behaviour patterns of adults baffling and disturbing. He learns to his great consternation that he cannot take the world for granted (as he has been doing as a child), not even his own brothers and sisters.

Teenage is the period of baffling uncertainties and glaring inconsistencies. At times, an adolescent idolizes his father for all the love and comforts he has provided him even at the cost of great personal inconvenience. His father cancelled a plea sun trip to nurse him when he was sick.

He rejected an attractive job offer to remain intuit town so that his child could continue to study in the prestigious school he had joined since his studies began. He has great love and admiration for his father. But he becomes; resentful of his father’s attitude when he does not agree to pay Rs. 5000/- for a triple Lakshadweep along with his school mates.

The father’s arguments that he cannot afford expenditure do not cut any ice as only last year he has spent Rs. 5000/- on his (father’s sister’s marriage. He keeps on sulking and comes to believe that his father does nil want him to enjoy the good things of life.

Teenage is the period of wild excitement and bitter disappointment. Loving attention paid by a young person of the opposite sex throws the teenager into a state of raptures. He treasures the words and loving gaze of the admirer.

It tickles him while reading or working. He hums the tunes of popular lyrics on love-themes or the listens the loud music. He tries to identify himself with characters of movies and fiction. Al of a sudden, the beloved walks away from his life. She has gone to another town thousands of miles away. She never contacts him on telephone or through letter. “Is she a cheat or am! Undeserving?”, the teenager asks himself.

He looks at his fact umpteen times in the mirror. May be the admirer has fallen in love with a more beautiful person. The teenager laments his lot. He tries to pour his grief in poems and songs. He becomes a poet emotionally if not technically.

The teenager wants to hold tight to the certainties and security of his childhood, but at the same time wants full freedom to undertake adventures and enter into relationships with other individuals without the approval or even knowledge of his parents.

He resents bitterly the enquiries regarding his movements and the persons he is friendly with. He shows a temper tantrum when he is advised by his father not to read comics or watch Television serials. He is aghast at the idea that his parents still treat a 15 year old as irresponsible.

He knows when to study and when to relax. His parents have no business to tell him what to do and when. The knowledge that his father and mother watch late night movies when he is studying makes him loath the hypocrisy of his parents.

Teenage is equally problematic for the teenager as well as his parents. He finds the world full of wonder and excitement. He wants to partake of the sensuous enjoy mint of sights and sports. He wants emotional as well as financial support of his parents for pursing his interests.

The middle aged parents on the other hand, want to preserve whatever monetary resources they have for the education of their sons and daughters and their marriages. They cannot spare money for films and sports.

They would keep on haranguing their leenage-children on the importance of systematic studies if they are to make their nark in life. They would not explain at length their financial condition. The teenager would become convinced that the parents are indifferent and callous to him and would not, like to see their children happy and contented experiences of a teenage girl I, too, had a mixed bag of my teenage problems.

Having been born a girl has compounded my difficulties. First of all, 1 was disgusted with the insistence of my mother that I should stop wearing skirts, blouse and half pants in favour of full length Iwar-kurta. I found it the most unreasonable constraint and till today am not com­pletely reconciled to it.

Secondly, my parents do not like me to go to a cinema-theatre with my friends to watch a movie. I am, therefore, deprived of great fun and excitement. This restraint appears all the more abominable as I have often found my father and mother dilating ypon the wonderful spectacle of movies like “San^am” and “Mughal-e-azam”, which they themselves watched in the cinema hall.

Many a time, I have been prevented by my mother to go for picnic with my friends on scooters and motor-bikes. I have always to be escorted by my brother or a ‘cousin while I go for an outing. It only shows how immature and unreliable I am in Ithe eyes of my parents. I do not expect from them such low opinion of me.

The biggest problem I faced as a teenager was when I opted for engineering subjects and declared that I wanted to be an aeronautics engineer. My mother would not let me appear for the J.E.E. for l.l.T… She insisted that I should prepare for admis­sion into M.B.B.S. as that was a more respected profession for women. The wrangle went on for months and I had my way only when my uncle, my mother’s brother, intervened on my behalf.

I recollect that I too, have behaved abnormally as a teenager. I never tolerated the attention paid by my mother to young boys and admiring looks my father often bestowed on young girls. I found the sight revolting. It was only after reading a little bit of psychology that I have persuaded myself that too much repression of feelings is not good for mental health. It is the behaviour and actions which should be subject of judgement and not mere expression of feelings. One becomes unnatural if one has to hide one’s feelings all the time.

As a teenager, what disturbed me most the violent expression of jealousy on the part of some of my very close relations particularly at my academic achievements? I had expected that I would be profusely hugged and facilitated by my cousins but I had the shock of my life when I found one of my cousins taking the news of my success in a very matter of fact way. He started dilating on the factors which had prevented him from making progress in his studies.

At this stage of my life, I look forward to future with little excitement and much trepidation. I apprehend that I have to face many difficult situations relating to my academic performance and marriage. May be I will get some support from my parents but whether the relations or friends will be of much help to me, I don’t feel any assurance on that count.