Most people want to be older, until they’re older. Then they want to be younger. Too many people spend their life worrying about what’s going to happen later in life or dwelling on decisions they’ve made and things that happened in the past. 

When you’re a teenager, you are in a spot where there are advantages and disadvantages, but if you think about it, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You have the freedom to do things that kids can’t do, like hang out with friends and go places on your own, but you don’t yet have all the responsibilities of an adult. It can be a very enjoyable time in life if you let it be. 

School takes up 13 years of a person’s life, not including college. In elementary and middle school, the goal is to make it to high school. Then in high school, the goal is to graduate and go to college. In college, the goal is to graduate and move on to a good job. Even when people have reached that career that they’ve been working towards, the moving never stops. There will always be something to work towards or look forward to. 

Planning for the future, to a certain degree, is necessary. But that doesn’t mean it needs to overwhelm your current life. If you spend too much time thinking about something that isn’t even relevant currently you will end up wasting most of your life waiting for the next part to begin and you will regret it later on. Most people want to be able to look back on memories from their teen years and remember all of the fun, careless times. 

While school is meant to be a place of learning, that’s not all it has to be. Obviously, academics should be put first, but find ways to make it more interesting.  Find people that can make school more enjoyable. School is something that has to be done, so why choose to make it something that you hate? Join clubs or sports, or hang out with people after school. Don’t let yourself get buried in worries about school.

Instead of rushing through these special years waiting for whatever the future is going to look like, stop and live in the moment. Appreciate the things you can do that you won’t be able to do in just a few years. Take a deep breath and take a break. And most importantly, have fun and live your life to the fullest, don’t waste it. You only get one after all.