Parents seem to love to wonder what is wrong with teenagers these days.

Why does she just sit up in her room? Why is She falling behind? Why is she always in a mood? Why does she cry so much? Why is She in so much pain? it's that good for nothing phone, phone, isn't it?.

 “Maybe you should exercise more.” “Stop eating so much.” “Have you ever tried eating?” “You're too fat.” “Look at how skinny she is.”

It hurts. The thing you guys say to us hurts

“Skinny” IS NOT A COMPLIMENT. 

And if someone such as your student or your child or your friend speaks up about them being depressed or stressed being body shamed don't consider them “weak” whether they are a boy or girl.

And I swear to you it is NOT our phones. That  “worthless piece of metal” is what’s keeping us going. 

We sit in our rooms because we have a limit and sometimes we just need to be alone, and when we do come out of our rooms don't act shocked or surprised. That right there is what puts us in the “mood” that you all seem to hate so much.

We are falling behind because we fought until we couldn't fight anymore.

We all have been put to the test this past year, that's why we cry so much. You act like you care but when I try to explain everything to you, you just seem to push it away.  

Mom, Dad, stop saying that we are “too young to be stressed” or “too young to be depressed.”

The so-called “best years of my life” started out in quarantine. But hey look I feel for my first boy, welp that was a great 10 months. A quick 10 months. Now I sit up in my room crying because he moved away and my best friend of nine years is gone, I'm probably never going to see him again. But “she's a teenager, it didn't mean anything”. “She’ll get over it.” “She's too young to be depressed anyway...”

You don’t know what we think or feel or think. So stop assuming.  Stop blaming our emotions on our phone just so you can get out of talking about our feelings. But most of us feel like we can't talk to you because we would be considered weak.

Nothing that we as teens in the 21st century go through is as easy as you think it is. We change from sweat pants, a hoodie and running mascara to little miss perfect in a flash, just so we don't disappoint you. We are not robots, we have emotions, we feel pain. We need a break. We need a break from the hours of school work that are assigned to us. We need a break from our screens. We need a break from acting like we are okay. We need a break from not being a perfect, child or student.  We need a break from you constantly yelling at us about what, sports?! It makes us feel like a failure.  We need sleep, and we need to eat so stop body shaming us, and saying “You should exercise more” “you're getting out of shape.“

Cut the beauty standards. Cut the “too young to be stressed/ depressed/ anxious,” and cut the “it’s the phone, isn't it.”  

But hey I know what you're thinking as an adult right now, “She’s such a complainer.”

Teenagers, am I right.