The one thing I’ve noticed since becoming a parent to a high schooler is the competition factor increases exponentially. These freshmen are fourteen and already deciding what their college major will be and to which colleges they need to apply.
Have all the adults forgotten what fourteen looked like on themselves? 17
Fourteen-year-olds are still rocking braces, talking to the opposite sex is terrifying and they don’t know what kind of eggs are their favorite. These are not mini adults that know who they are what they want to be. They are little bobbers(still connected to their parents) in a giant ocean of possibilities.
In 2018, we are rushing these children into adulthood at an alarming pace, and launching that adulthood shuttle; we are filling them up with all the extracurriculars, advanced placement courses, and volunteering as fuel.
Teens are overworked and under-compensated in high school. They have no idea who they are, only what they do. Knowing one’s self is so important on the path of figuring out what you want to become. How can you mold your picture-perfect future at fourteen if you don’t even know who you are going to be in the next five minutes?
Because I believe that boredom breeds creativity, I say let them be bored!
Some parents are reading this and are in a panic because it’s easier to give teens distractions and push them into sports. However, creativity helps them learn more about themselves than the youtube videos they would otherwise be viewing. Remove the tv’s, phones and the wifi and watch as they are forced to grow.
At fourteen, I think the only relationship teenagers should be in is a relationship with themselves. Let them be bored. You’ll be proud of who they chose to become.
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