teenagersims | Teen Ink

teenagersims

August 31, 2009
By MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments

My name is Meagan. There is nothing extraordinary about me. I am a seventeen year old, counting down the days till graduation, just like every other senior in the world. I’ve accomplished a lot in my short seventeen years of life, as have I made mistakes. I’m not perfect; show me one person who is. I’m on the path of self discovery, which, as I have come to realize is not an easy conduit. Trials and tribulations have presented themselves in great abundance. Adolescence; something we all must face, and fight to overcome.
I clearly remember the last time I had to move. I was eleven going on twelve. It was the summer before my seventh grade year. At that point, starting a new school wasn’t really THAT big of a deal.
I spent the next four and a half years going to Mountain Home. I made four of the best, most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for. When I had to leave them I was crushed. I’ve never had to deal with letting go of people I was friends with for so long. Leaving people I’ve known for a year and leaving people I’d been around for most of my teenage life was so much harder than I had expected.
Over the majority of the summer, I convinced myself that I wasn’t going to meet anyone that didn’t already have their “established” group of friends. It was my senior year, what else could I expect? I was sure that the majority of people I was about to call my classmates had been at this school for most, if not all of their high school years.
I soon realized that starting a new high school was way different than being the “new girl” in elementary or even middle school. It wasn’t as easy to gain “approval” of my classmates now as it had been back then.
I felt like a freshman all over again. However, at least as a Freshman I had my friends; people I knew. I could very easily name well over ninety percent of my class. Here, at this new school, I knew no one.
I am usually not a “shy” person. I am very outgoing and bubbly. But for some unexplainable reason none of my previous qualities followed me to this new school.
As the day progressed, I was dreading lunch time more than anything. I didn’t want to be the weird girl that was forced to sit in the corner by herself due to her lack of friends. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It was the first day of school, there were bound to be other new students in my position, right? Well that may have been true, and I’m sure it was, but in my mind I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as: I was alone.
I am still struggling to meet new people, haven’t really made much progress yet. I just can’t seem to put myself out there. I’ve never had to worry about what others thought of me because socially, I’ve been around the same exact people for the last five years. I didn’t realize that as I grew older things that didn’t use to be so important, all the sudden seemed so dramatic and life-changing.
I’ve been told over and again by my mom that I will eventually have to enter the “real” world and that the worry I have over all of the things that have happened in high school will almost immediately evaporate upon said entrance.
What adults fail to realize is that every day in a teenager’s life is a battle. We’re no longer children, but not quite adults. We struggle to make the right decisions. We struggle to find out who we are and what we stand for. We struggle to just fit in.
As I looked at through the list of topics we were given to write about I only found one that was applicable to me. And believe me; I struggled for the longest time, deciding which moment in my life to write about, after all, there were so many. So, I decided to look at the bigger picture. And it occurred to me that all of my struggles have come with being a teenager. From there, it just made sense; it sort of “clicked”. And although I still have about a year and a half left, I honestly believe that being a teenager has been the hardest experience in my life; something I’m sure that I will carry with me for the rest of my existence.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 54 comments.


on Nov. 20 2009 at 1:03 pm
Hannah523 SILVER, Winterport, Maine
8 articles 0 photos 11 comments
I live in Maine too, haha small world (kinda) :P

on Oct. 30 2009 at 3:03 pm
jesusfreak17 SILVER, Winslow, Maine
9 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Tears are words from the heart that can't be spoken."- Unknown
"Anyone can make you smile or cry, but it takes someone special to make you smile when you already have tears in your eyes."- Unknown

I will be living in Farmington, which is about an hour away from Augusta.

on Oct. 30 2009 at 11:07 am
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments
Wow, thats crazy. my sophomore year I moved to maine for a while. what part?

brezec said...
on Oct. 29 2009 at 6:20 pm
Even though I have just scratched the surface of becoming a teenager, I can relate to many of your experiences. Just like you, I moved to my new school and most of the kids there had already been friends for about four years. It was pretty difficult to find friends but eventually I found some people I could hang out with. I also agree with your view on adults understanding our problems. Sometimes adults say to be yourself and everything will be fine but most of the time it is not that simple. In your essay you wrote, "We struggle just to fit in." I wholeheartedly agree with that. To improve your essay, I would add more on how the problems of being a teenager shape your future identity when you are an adult.

airforcebrat said...
on Oct. 29 2009 at 5:56 pm
i liked it alot. see i have never experience that because i travel so much because of my father. So thanks so much for sharing. its my senior year and i just dont know what to write about.

on Oct. 29 2009 at 12:47 pm
jesusfreak17 SILVER, Winslow, Maine
9 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Tears are words from the heart that can't be spoken."- Unknown
"Anyone can make you smile or cry, but it takes someone special to make you smile when you already have tears in your eyes."- Unknown

I know how you feel. I haven't moved yet but I will have to move this coming summer and it will be my Senior year. I have been in my town for 3 years and have alot of friends that i don't want to say good bye to. i have to move from Kansas to Maine.

on Oct. 1 2009 at 8:09 pm
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments
Well I'm glad things are getting better for you. Also glad to know there are other people who feel the same that I do!!!

on Oct. 1 2009 at 3:24 pm
smileitsallyoucando BRONZE, Fayetteville, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 7 comments
I had to move my senior year from the most amazing high school ever. It's getting better, I miss my friends like crazy but their so far away and I'm slowly making new ones. This story is so true!

on Sep. 29 2009 at 12:47 pm
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments
Yeah, life is definatley not easy. I know there are people out there who are worse off than me and I really do feel badly for them. Anyways thank you for taking the time to read my work :)

on Sep. 29 2009 at 12:45 pm
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments
Thank you :)

on Sep. 29 2009 at 12:45 pm
MeagaroniNCheese BRONZE, Mountain Home, Arkansas
4 articles 0 photos 8 comments
:) Well thanks I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to read my work and it makes me even happier to know that you enjoyed it

Twig92 said...
on Sep. 29 2009 at 10:32 am
Hey Meghan i know how you feel. Life is hard espeacily when changing from one school to another.i know its going to be hard just hang in... Peace Happiness and Love

dariard said...
on Sep. 27 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hi Megan, your story really touched me. It is tough to transfer your senior year. You are clearly a good writer. Could you find some kind of writing project that would involve interviewing a bunch of students? Write up their life stories? Write a piece about the different social groups at your new school? Anything that would put you into contact with a bunch of kids and help you get to know them! Not to mention letting your writing ability shine. Take the lead in starting or joining a club or creating a project. The very best to you -- Daria

Hillary said...
on Sep. 26 2009 at 12:15 am
Beautiful. Well written and well said. Hang in there.