Puberty Blues

[Chemical]

Remember being a teenager? All the drama? Highschool? Cliqs? Parties?

Man.... good times..and bad times. It was the best of both worlds. I think it was a time of the greatest happiness and the most devestating lows over far less serious things than I now encounter.

We were creative rascals, weren't we? Would you go back and relive it? Is there a particular teenage moment that inspires or haunts you to this day?

[Quindiana Jones]

Should've punched more people in the face.

[Ayen]

Remember being a teenager?

Yup.


All the drama?

Yup.


Highschool?

Nope.


Cliqs?

Nope.


Parties?

Nope.


Would you go back and relive it?

Nope.


Is there a particular teenage moment that inspires or haunts you to this day?

I remember being pretty homophobic. And that inspired me to not be homophobic.

I was home schooled so I was spared high school drama and the only parties I went to were hosted by my church.

[blackmage_nuke]

Knowing what I know now, yes I would relive being a teenager because the math stuff is so much easier now and I think i finally get the english stuff. They didnt want me to come up with original thoughts at all, they wanted me to state what was being conveyed and how and then quote some fancy pants who also thought the same. I was confused because what they considered "original" was what I considered "obvious to anyone who watches/reads it and not really worth mentioning".

I would also have been involved in more sporting activities so I wouldnt be a pudgy mess later (i'd rather be a slightly stocky mess)

There wasnt really any drama and there were cliques but people got along (until they didnt).

Unless by go back and relive it you dont mean revert to a younger age and redo my life and rather go back experience it again then be shoved back into my current body when Im no longer a teenager. Then no, I see no major benefit to experiencing it again asside from all the crazy stuff I can experiment with in a universe with no consequences that will collapse when I turn 20.

Unless by go back and relive it you mean would I like the memories of my 13-19 year old self planted more clearly in my brain then no...no I definitely would not want that.

[Pike]

Hell yeah I'd relive being a teenager over again, I played Pokemon and N64 all day and I didn't feel old, it was frigging great

I just want one summer where I'm like 15 or 16 and I marathon vidya all day every day for three months and eat what I want without gaining weight

oh god those were the days

[Shorty]

I had a great social life as a teenager. I had a lot of friends, was in what could be considered one of the "popular" groups, but perhaps just "notable" groups is a better term. When I think about being that age, I particularly think about being in my boyfriend's basement in Utah with all of our friends and piles of terrible food and candy and soda around us while we watched Adult Swim cartoons or someone playing SexBox, probably high, and then aimlessly wandering around the neighborhood in a tiny pack as juvenile delinquents in the dead of night. Just kids being kids. Skipped a lot of school, did pretty much whatever I wanted when my mom wasn't home.

I did not have a great home life as a teenager. I thought about running away all the time but was too afraid to do it because of threats from my mother, had a lot of generally angsty teenage thoughts and hardships in dealing with my family, tried to be a leader for my sisters because my mom was gone more often than she was home. I dealt with parents divorcing and pulling away from the church within just a couple years of eachother, and suffered from both of those things. I don't think I would relive those years, with reasons being that I would not want to relive my home life.

They were equally good and bad years. I would rather just let them be and keep the memories from them rather than reliving them.

[Madame Adequate]

My later teenage years were when my life stopped sucking and started getting good, so as long as we're talking 16 and over hell yeah I'd go again. Just playing videogames all day without caring about anything else, and being able to hang out with bros because we haven't yet fallen prey to the wiles of women? Sign me up!

[Pumpkin]

When I was a teenager, my mom emancipated me so she wouldn't have to be responsible for me as she skipped work to be a drunk, then at 15 I got pregnant with twins as a surrogate, gave birth to them, had my mom leave me with rent of $1200/month when I wasn't working (pregnant),went through severe depression, was in an abusive relationship, dropped out of school 4 times, mostly due to things like being pregnant, having to get a job for the rent of the place I downsized to, etc, moved out of town with no transportation, became very isolated, got evicted, moved in with my aunt, went to adult ed, was the victim of sexual assault, got pregnant again, moved back in with my mom who I hadn't spoken to in a few years, aaaaannd then I was an adult!

The high school parts were really not very drama filled. Would I do it again? Only if I could change things. So very many things.

[Agent Proto]

I didn't have a spectacular teenage years, but considering my current position in life, if I were given the chance to relive those years, I would very likely take that chance. There were a lot of missed opportunities and things I never experienced, so things would play slightly different than it had before.

[Parker]

My favourite part of leaving highschool is that all the drama and cliques and so on are actually persistent wherever you are. The sweet old ladies at the complex can out-bitch, out-drama and out-clique better than any highschooler (the benefits of growing old and wise, etc).

My teen years were ok, although unspectacular. I guess I might change the odd crush here or the odd self-loathing moment there but nothing particularly bad came out of teenagehood for me.

[Shiny]

What I will miss: Not having any real responsibilities, classes and teachers I loved like my history teachers, making weird films during a/v club, Pens to Lens English class where we wrote review essays about films we love, some of my middle school and high school friends whom I've now grown apart from

What I won't miss: Waking up super early to get to homeroom, a majority of the teachers, a majority of the students, the surly librarian, the rules, classes that bored me like Trigonometry, odd growing pains (chubby face swollen face, pimples, etc.)

I wouldn't do anything differently. I'm glad I didn't fall in with another clique of "the cool kids" which I may have around the time I was 13. All of those girls are now pregnant, already had a kid, or work at McDonalds. A majority of the popular people are losers, so I'm glad I went with the nerds. We rule the world.

[Mirage]

If i got to keep all my current knowledge, I would have loved to go through the teens again.

[Mercen-X]

At 14, I stopped trying to socialize with people. Nobody was into the same things I was into and I just didn't want to try. I started "home-schooling" mid-seventh grade, so I didn't do the typical high school, cliques, clubs, parties... I pretty much didn't know anybody. The home-schooling was not so much home-schooling since I did have a few onsite classes for the socials. There had been only sparse moments of recognition amongst the peers. I drew a doodle on a whiteboard that made the mates laugh. That was a high point. I smuggled myself into a few pictures with people I admired. They were obviously confused by my sudden and random sociability. I lost most of those pictures, sadly. I nearly took a girl and her friend to a party, but a misunderstanding forced us to go home before I had even gotten in. I reminisced with my first ex-girlfriend at one point. I tried to impress a couple of girls by climbing a huge wall and sprained my ankle. The pain came and went for the next four or five years.

I'm actually writing a novel that details how I would live my life if I could do it all over again. I hope to be able to make it into a television series.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

My teenage years were pretty good. I had good friends, no responsibilities, a good home life... I do miss hanging out with those people. I even managed to avoid drama mostly aside from with the girlfriend I had at the time. Aside from that little drama, I was happy.

That being said, I'd never want to go back to those times. I like who I am as a person much better now, after high school. If I were reliving those times with how I am now, I feel like I'd be annoyed a lot of the time.

[noxious.sunshine]

I miss nothing of puberty or my teenage years.

It was all a major shitfest and I wouldn't wish what I went through on anyone.

[Chemical]

Looking back it is definitely the lack of responsibility and frivolty that is the most attractive. But most are maybe the simple delights of lunch time hangouts sunning on the grass with friends, having airy fabulous debates, and making grilled cheese in the hallway. Or delightful lazy lounges in basements shooting shit, listening to music and trying to get high on whatever was around. There's a nostalgia to it kin to what I imagine it would belike to live well off and young in the 20's. Debaucherous with a hint of recklessness... all the hallmarks of a Freudian postcard .

[Madonna]

Reading a lot of these posts, it is clear that a lot of teenage childhoods were not so great and not worth reliving in any capacity. For those peple, I am expansively sympathetic, and glad you have at least made it here and kept us all company. However, human beings do go through a huge change in that phase of their lives, and that is worth noting and trying to keep in perspective. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KQb3Mx2WMw) We are amazing creatures, and the feelings that you experience then help form who you are as an adult, and at times adult forget how much the small things matter to younger people because adults have a different perspective and temper situations with experience teenagers do not have.

I personally do not subscribe to the idea that being a teen again would be great, as I have a wonderful life now, met wonderful friends since then, and I have had tremendous experiences that are not worth trading for another, different life. I am very satisfied to be where and when I am.

[Chemical]

I don't subscribe to the necessity of trading in the present to relive the past. It's all just a whimsical excercise in romantic nostalgia.

I recall my first year in high school they had this event where for charity you would gather a team and try to cram as many people into A VW beetle as possible. Well didn't one of the older and bigger school kids have the brilliant idea of using his sports-captain-school-academic-president charisma to muster ("recruit" as he more eloquently placed it) all the smallest kids including myself. We fit 23 of us into that VW and I will never forget being sardined in with my other wriggling and groaning school mates hanging upside down. Our fearless, leader "supervising" and beaming with the kind of egotistical radiance one gets from watching his thoroughbred horse cross the finishing race at the Melbourne Cup. It was my first lesson in social food chains. Chortle.

[Casey]

Remember being a teenager? All the drama? Highschool? Cliqs? Parties?

Man.... good times..and bad times. It was the best of both worlds. I think it was a time of the greatest happiness and the most devestating lows over far less serious things than I now encounter.

We were creative rascals, weren't we? Would you go back and relive it? Is there a particular teenage moment that inspires or haunts you to this day?

Yes I remember being a teenager. I pretty much didn't have friends tell the end of Highschool. Then going to bootcamp after 11 grade during the summer was fun. Learning how to be a soldier.... but then returned and got into drugs and dropped out of highschool, which I regret. Then getting a GED and going back to Fort Knox to learn how to be a Abrams Tank Crewmen. If I had a choice I would've waited tell after highschool and gone active duty. It was fun and I wish I didn't do drugs.... can't change that or play the could've would've... though it would be nice to go back and relive it but I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for all the crap I have been through. I also didn't have schizophrenia then which was cool not hearing voices in my head from time to time.

[Jessweeee♪]

Naw, I wouldn't relive it. Nothing to relive! I was bullied a lot in elementary and middle school so when I changed districts going into high school I was pretty much "playing possum" to avoid inviting more bullying. Woke up, got on the bus, avoided eye contact with fellow students, stared out the window, got to class, stared out the window, got my lunch, avoided sitting with other students, stared out the window, back to class, go home and read a book or post here, go to sleep. Weekends I holed myself in my room with the PS2. It worked though, no one ever bothered me anymore. I caught wind of some weird speculative rumors though. My friends who went to another school ran into kids from my school, described me and asked them if they knew me, and they said "omg you know that psycho lesbian bitch?" like wat

I'm not exactly a social butterfly now but I enjoy going out a lot more and sometimes I go with friends c:

[Sephex]

No, I am happy with how things happened, mistakes and all.

I enjoy the freedom of living alone. I enjoy being able to have people hang out with me without consulting with my parents. I get paid to spend time in a building for a few hours out of societal obligations. I can drink without worrying about any legal ramifications as long as I don't get behind a wheel and stay indoors (which happens 100% of the time now). No homework. No final due. I now learn about cool things I am into instead of studying for an class devoid of creativity with rote memorization. I have a nice car instead of a POS that will break down if I blink at it hard enough. If anyone is idiotic enough to pick on me in the adult world, like the work place, they'd get in actual trouble instead of some useless half hour detention. I don't have adults look me in the eye and try to BS me about what grim future I have if I don't do exactly what they say. I am much smarter, more capable of dealing with my emotions, and infinitely happier. Frankly, life is a lot more interesting per few days than four, long years inside of a bland set of buildings.

Why the hell would I go back?

[Shlup]

Ehh... I like my life now. I don't really think about my puberty years much; they were pretty dull, in retrospect. BJ often waxes nostalgic about youthful shenanigans but I like being old.

[Loony BoB]

I thoroughly enjoyed my teenage years despite the downsides. I was uglier, I was stupider, I did stupid things, I was an idiot with the ladies and got nowhere fast with most of them, I had family problems and I occasionally had friend problems.

But I could do whatever I wanted for the most part, I had no financial concerns, the money I earned could happily be wasted on pies and crisps, video games were in The Golden Age, I had wonderful friends that I could hang out with and I had a closeness with some people that sadly I don't have anymore.

I would not give up adulthood to be a teenager forever, but I would happily "have another go" if I could get back to living my adult life afterwards.

Here's to the future, where I can plug myself into my own memories and relive my teenagehood.

[Sephiroth]

Remember being a teenager? ... Parties?


No.

[Dat Matt]

I am similar to Bob here in that I am nostalgic for my teenage years, but would prefer to continue my adult lifestyle.

I hated the first few years of highschool. Nerdy and unpopular I didn't make too many friends. Around about my 3rd year I started to discover myself a bit more, found a taste in music, associated with people with similar interests. The one thing I miss about highschool is that I had a lot of time to mess around and hang out with people. Finishing school at 3:30pm meant that I could hang out with my friends until 6, get dinner and then play videogames all evening. I also had days dedicated to spending time with people all evening, or going to a local pub to drink some beer despite being 15 (Legal age 18).

I do feel nostalgic sometimes and wonder what it would be like to do it all again with my current knowledge, or how things would different if I was in school now.

On the other hand, being an adult is pretty cool.

[Jiro]

Yeah, for sure. It would be nice to float back and give a once-over now that I know what not to take for granted.