Ellie Speaks...

On the evening of my 13th birthday, my mother came into my room to have a "chat". She told me that the next few years were going to be really hard, that we would probably argue a lot, that I could expect gigantic mood swings, lots of stress and serious self-esteem issues. I was WELL looking forward to becoming a teenager...

Anyhoodle, here I am on the evening of my 18th birthday and I can't help thinking that in a lot of ways she was totally right. Being a teenager is hard work and most of the time it's because you're constantly seeking everyone's approval, including your own. Everyone wants a piece of you: school, the media, parents, friends, sports/music clubs etc. What really bugs me, is how people respond to teenagers. There seems to be two extremes: on the one hand, you have the people who think all teenagers are thugs, sluts and good for nothings - they're wrong; and on the other you have people (especially teachers and youth leaders) who are like "wooooh I love working with teenagers" like we're some sort of alternative species - they're just annoying. Teenagers just want you to respect them, for you to be their friend and not just because it's "alternative" or "the right thing to do for the future generation", but because you genuinely like spending time with them. I'm lucky enough to have adults in my life who treat me like one of their peers, something which I really, really appreciate.

I'd like to think that I'm coming out of the whole approval addiction phase, but I'm still trying to live up to the standards that I have set for myself...maybe I'll never get over that part. For all the bad aspects of being a teenager, I've had a pretty awesome ride. On the evening of every birthday I like to read over my old journals and just remember all the amazing experiences and adventures I've had. Tonight, as I read through them, I couldn't help but notice how God has always been in every single moment, how he has worked every bad situation for good and how he has put some incredible people in my life to help guide and support me. I feel so lucky, lucky, lucky! I'm not really that bothered about being 18, age is just a number and I just like birthdays because they make you feel all special and appreciated. So this blog...really doesn't have much of a point. Anyways, I'd like to leave you with a quote from a book I read this week, I think it's a pretty interesting thought on life and teenagers :-) Enjoy!

"When adults say, 'Teenagers think they are invincible', with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so cannot fail"

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Excellent book. EVERYONE READ IT!)