Tonight my teenage neighbor had what is probably to be the first of many fights to come with a boyfriend. She's got a special place in my heart, and I think she's the only person who knows me and still thinks I'm cool. Ultimately once this is posted, I'm leaving it up to her parents if they want her to read it because they're pretty cool, too... at least by my standards, probably not by a teenager's. ;)I've thought to myself for a while now and expressed to a few select people that all teenagers are assholes. They laugh and deny that their kids are because they're good kids, and really they are, so I would like to take a bit to expand upon this. It's not just teenagers who are assholes, it's kids in general. I was an asshole. My husband was an asshole. My son will be an asshole. You were an asshole (I hope you aren't still).
Aside from learning math and history, a big part of going to school is interacting with other assholes, and it's a really important part of life. Why? Because it lets other people show you how to not be an asshole. And how to deal with the ones who don't grow out of it like the majority of people do. Kids don't know how not to be selfish yet. Kids don't really know where they fit in in society. Every kid pushes their boundaries every single day. Growing up is a giant experiment where you're constantly trying to figure out what works.
So, neighbor, it's OK to be upset with someone because you're both still learning; you're teaching each other. This doesn't mean you have to always put up with assholery; your friends should be learning from their actions just as you are. It's hard to look at it when you feel like you're just trying to deal and try to figure out who was right and who was wrong sometimes because deep down you're both assholes. It happens to everyone, and everyone does it, too. You're learning what secrets to keep, how to treat each other right, and how to handle disappointment so you'll grow out of assholery.
And hopefully by the time you're done with school you'll have it figured out. Keep learning. Everyone sucks sometimes.
