What’s Wrong With You?
By: Hilaria Benavidez (8)
Adolescence Is a universal struggle, and it’s a quite humbling experience for every unfortunate one of us that goes through it. Many may wonder, “Is it just my hormones?” And in retrospect, “Was it only the transitions that made those times so complicated?” Many know that’s not the only answer. And with this article, I will give more insight to this Limbo with topics and POV’s that are not so touched on, instead of some sugar coated bull you got when you were 11 that gives no clarity whatsoever!
Let’s start with the loudest topic. I’ve interviewed 50 people from Jordan middle school and 25% of them Reported that as teenagers they struggled with their social life the most.
Socialization, what does that mean for a teenager?
As you develop into adolescence, many realize companionship is more than sharing a favorite color, and to dislike someone is more complex than saying your toy is superior to another. Cliques become more defined and bullying becomes more than just a tease. What does a social life look like for an average teenager?
Well, most of it happens at school! Friends, haters, lovers, even relationships where one could consider someone as an “opp”. Why do teenagers consider this as a struggle? For obvious reasons, hellooo!?
How to fit in? Find a date? You the reader, I’m sure to be familiar with these problems, know the basics! But I know the cringe of it all “Why did I do that?” I’ll tell you why. “Why me?” I’LL TELL YOU WHY!!!
Many people care about fitting in, It’s an affirmation that you belong. They’re many layers to it like Social media cliques, ect, but there is one goal for all who care about their persona based on others criteria, fitting in. Circling back to what I said, fitting in is like an affirmation you belong. What I’m trying to get to is that affirmation is social support. It’s a prominent tool that many teens use along the way of identifying themselves!
A good example we can use is what many call “ Pick me boys/girls” Widely known as an individual that seeks the attention of others. For approval, people pleasing, praise, all of that dirt. How does one become a pick me? Well, there are many broad bullet points for this one which could explain its commonality. Low-self esteem, Abandonment issues, A neglect that has or is happening in their life. And if you want to consider stereotypical aspects of pick me’s, you can even see the clear path of their internalized misogyny! If you’re an experienced human, you understand pick me’s can develop as early as they ask for milk.
For example, imagine a baby crying in its cradle, it needs milk. It’s Goddess of Eden (Mama) Is somehow unavailable in this situation. Sleeping, going potty, or even in a serious neglect; Mama’s downtown partying it up with her girls. In a healthy situation, Mom would find a way to fix this error. But in our situation, Mom wakes up on the floor with glitter all over her face. She’s finally tired of the alarm clock (her baby crying), Mom limps to the baby’s room to soothe the wailing beast. But what does this baby do? Reject the milk! With long periods of this behavior, or even not fixing simple errors, you could easily give a 1 year old abandonment issues.
This could seriously stop an individual from developing, making one concerned about things that were supposed to be out of the way before kindergarten. So yeah, over the years this kid will get their phone, a car, a spouse etc. But their social life will be challenged, still asking for that bottle. But hey, at least there’s a diploma on their resume!
And if all of these boxes check out for you,no worries! I know I really hit the bullseye with this one. All this means is, you’re not alone! It’s time for some serious shadow work, the counselors office. That brings us to the next topic, In all it’s horrifyingly humorous absurdity: A Teenagers Mind.
A Teenagers Mind
Chemicals are being thrown around like pillows at a 12 year old girls slumber party. The frontal lobe is growing like the resentment an emo boy is having for his parents. You said one wrong thing and now you want to cry a river, why is that? I mean it’s hormones…Isn’t it?
Well maybe for all of those who once were. But doesn’t that sound too simple? Frankly, I call it a bunch of baloney! It’s much more serious than it seems. Tell that to my face after I show you all the mental health statistics for Gen-Z & Alpha!
Let’s begin with a loud bang. Did you know that 42% of Gen-Z struggles with mental health? And that’s only depression. With this generation, you will find that there’s nine out of ten people that are mentally ill in general. Not to mention both of these Generations’ attention spans are absolutely fried, at a whopping 2 second interest. For about the last twenty-seven years two generations have deteriorated into needing a split screen to focus.
Not only should you be concerned about the future of our self discipline but you gotta turn around to the responsible, Gen-X Millennials… What happened?
To round this up we’ll begin on the primary parents. Gen-X, the generation who brags about their trauma-I mean, pretty explanatory right? Nonetheless let’s dive into the details. Gen- X is a group of people born from 1965-1980 ranging from 44 years old to 59, when you think about these people you’d probably imagine, teachers and parents. Many of these people take pride in the fact that they’re latchkey kids! On permission2speakfreely.com, a Gen-X literally brags that they’re skeptical and cynical. Yikes!
Gen-X Rise
Have you ever heard about “Gen-X rise”? I hope not, but I’m telling you anyway!
Gen-X rise is A TikTok trend that THOUSANDS of Gen-X users have participated in. The message some try to give with this trend is the recognition for their abilities. But most of these users use this trend to “ Declare war” on Gen-Z…
You could guess how concerning this is. I mean, they’re old enough to be our PARENTS and some of these participants, I am sure, are.