Two Years Later... Revisiting a Topic I've Learned a lot About

On February 9th, 2014, I wrote a post entitled "Life in the Late Teen Years".  I read it today, and was  thinking about what I thought back then versus now about that.

I was a relatively young 17 when I wrote that post, and, looking back, I have to admit that 17-year-old Ali was incredibly stupid on a multitude of levels.  I may not be as wise as my parents or grandparents, but I'd like to think I have a higher understanding now than I did then.  This being the case, I'd like to revisit this topic.

My main premise, I think, was that being an "old teenager" was a game of coping with your parents' rules until you were stable enough to get the heck out from under their roof.  And at that point in my life that is exactly what I was doing.

Now that I'm 2 years older, I have a different premise:  Being an "old teenager" is a game of being an adult and wanting others to adult for you.  It's no longer about stupid games of "how much can I get away with doing?" it is now "how much can I get away with not doing because I am a baby and know absolutely nothing about anything."

Quite a different view huh?

I wish honestly that I could go back in time and have a very long chat with 16/17 year old me.  I was so foolish back then.  On the other hand, I'd probably want to smack younger me in the face with a metal chair...  19 year old Ali despises 16 year old Ali.

So yeah, to all the 15-17 year olds who might be reading this, this is what I would say to myself:

YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR LIFE FIGURED OUT!!!  Go sit in your room and eat your cereal because you are a baby who knows nothing! Wait until you get slapped with taxes and government forms and college and a job and planning for a future your parents are like your best friend okay? They take care of all that stuff and you don't even know about half of it. So unless you're starting to become a REAL functioning adult at the age of 16, you need to stop fighting your parents on everything.

I still hate it when I have to go to my parents and say "You know that thing I thought I was right about that you said I wasn't?  Yeah, um, you were right sooooo...... yeah..." But you know what? I'm starting to have those moments a lot because my parents are smarter than they used to be. ;)

I'm not saying that all parents are always reasonable all the time.  Sometimes my parents have to come to me and apologize because they were wrong about something.  Some parents are... well... they aren't always fair, or they really do smother their children with strict rules and harsh reprimands. But you know something?  God doesn't say to honor your parents when they deserve it.  So just do what you can.  And do acknowledge that even if your parents are overly-strict or mean, they still have a lot more experience than you, and underneath the nastiness, they really do know stuff.

Have a good week!