Getting Under the (Blemished) Skin of Teenagers

After years of being faced with discrimination, peculiar looks and remarks relating to my age, I've finally had enough. I've reached the end of my tether with negativity surrounding so-called 'troublesome' adolescents and the oh-so-frightful labels - many of which give the wrong impression to the general public - which are incorrectly tagged upon me, simply because I'm stuck in a sort of limbo between childhood and eventual adulthood. Sounds great, doesn't it?

First of all, I only turned fifteen around three weeks ago and so I'm rapidly nearing the time when exam mania will fall upon me, wrapping myself up into a world mainly focused on revising, expanding the storage space in my brain like a hard drive and experiencing harsh levels of guilt as to failing to chuck out my ancient Bratz pencil case years ago. Unlike what many are often led - or choose - to believe, I actually quite enjoy learning because it offers me the perfect outlet to showcase my skills and take one step further towards fulfilling my life-long dream of becoming a journalist or pursuing a career as a crime-fighting barrister, and I think that I'm correct in declaring that the majority of teenagers share similar views to my own.

A recent survey (as reported by i) has found that as many as a fourth of all teenagers are motivated to break into the jobs industry and work equally as hard as their older peers, many of whom only prefer to focus on the binge-drinking reports which truly misrepresent teenagers in a poor light. And, considering that teenagers have all but been the focus of media scrutiny since they came into their own back in the rocking 50s', is there a chance that this problem could ever change?

When I grabbed my hands upon the survey several days ago, a feeling of heartfelt pride, hope and relief flooded through my veins because I had given into my fears long ago that my generation - who, in my opinion, are more interested in improving their skills and strengthening views which would even make the Prime Minister waver in his shoes - would always been pushed aside to a lonely corner, destined to be forever criticized for committing petty crimes, causing a mini-riot during a rave and sending offensive messages to whomever we could think of on Facebook. Yes, there are those little-minded people who will continue to inflict pain upon people or create a mess which everybody else will have to clear up, but why should those teenagers be the misguided representatives of modern day teenagers?

Like adults, countless teenagers make tons of mistakes - most of which are unintended, if you've ever wondered why your daughter or son strolls around the house with the weight of the world on their shoulders after accidentally smashing your beloved mug to smithereens - but we try to make the most of it by learning from previous errors and eventually moving on, yet it is almost impossible to do so when the door is constantly slammed in front of our faces all the time. No words in my Collins dictionary can describe the embarrassment I unwillingly face whenever I walk into a cosmetics shop, for example, to purchase a lipstick for which I obviously intend to pay; out of the corner of my eye, I can tell that a security guard is boring his or her eyes in my back, a sensation of which unleashes the most uncomfortable feelings within me. As a few thoughtless youths decided against purchasing make-up legally, thousands of hard-working teenage girls and I are wrongful victims of discrimination which happens on a daily basis - and it should stop now. Age is purely a number and stereotypes clearly do not extend to every single person living on the planet - if I had any true intentions of stealing my favourite lipstick, would I have ever displayed an interest in abiding and studying Law?

Part of the dilemma surrounding teenagers and their million and one problems is that many adults - who, in case a short-term spell of amnesia has clouded their memory, used to be teenagers themselves - forget that adolescents can be so easily hurt by spiteful and negative remarks placed towards them on such an often basis. Until recently, almost everything I've read about teenagers has been written by adults who are purely led astray by numerous reports about modern day teens struggling to excel in school or other areas of life, as it appears that a constant round of adolescent-themed negativity goes on during each generation. Personally, I feel that I am mentally stronger to fight off these claims with a powerful strength than if I'd been placed in a similar position twenty or so years before; nowadays, your background no longer matters as long as you have a voice which is waiting to be heard. Has it ever occurred to you why thousands of people - both in the midst of adolescence and going through the life-changing years of adulthood - read blogs written by like-minded teenagers? Nobody cares about your age or even your gender as it may have been the case years ago because the words which flow through your fingertips matter the most, whilst also gaining a neat following of loyal readers who linger to lap up every single word like a pot of crème brûlée.

Since last autumn, I've been regularly posting entries onto my blog, Life as a Modern Teen, and have found out more about myself through the art of experimental writing. So far, I've discovered that social networking is a no-go network for me - unless New Zealand teen singer Lorde offered me a friend request, which I would accept within a heartbeat - and home schooling neatly suits the way I am, and I'm hoping to come across more subjects in the future as my opinions expand and age broadens my mind like a matured bottle of Waitrose-bought wine.

At the end of the day, the wishes waiting to be granted on top of my list include winning a struggling battle against spots, excelling in my chosen GCSE subjects (cue a disappointed frown at the fact of a journalism subject no longer existing) and leading a content life as a modern teenager without unrealistic stereotypes being thrown upon myself. As I've said before, I constantly make an effort to better myself and reach higher than I ever believed was possible to climb within reason - a trek upon Mount Kilimanjaro is not a possibility at the moment - but I'm more likely to receive a negative reaction from adults due to my age being somewhat of a barrier. And would you be surprised if the majority of teenagers agreed with me?

It's about time, now that we are well and truly in the flow of 2014, to destroy the barrier formed by the media and misinformed adults decades before Generation Y - a.k.a. the current legion of teenagers of which I'm a fully-fledged member - were even born.

And I, for one, am glad to be saying goodbye to it.