Teenage Angst

My pain and my strife

is like an open wound exposed

by the knife we call life.

Assumpta Ozua 2000
Those 3 lines provide a small insight into my mind circa age 14 (that’s when I wrote it). It never ceases to amaze me how little the things I dwelled on back then, matter now.

This is not to say that my feelings or the feelings of any teenager are invalid. On the contrary – they are important. However, in the grand scheme of things, the worries of childhood usually slip away and make room for much bigger life issues.

Coursework, social and romantic life… or lack thereof give way to job stress, bills and thoughts of future plans. One of the few consistencies are relationships woes (or highs) and the ever evolving rollercoaster rise that maintaining friendships can be.

All of this to say that when you look back on life with hindsight, oftentimes, it’s not quite as bad as it seemed at the time. And even if it was, the ability to look back means that you made it through and that in itself is beautiful.