Have I Been Robbed Of My Teenage Years?

What’s the teenage dream? Is it spending every second with your mates, getting your license, sneaking out of home, getting drunk, asking someone out, going to parties? Maybe it's all-nighters, crappy jobs, make-out session, being reckless and mischievous. Perhaps making mistakes but learning from them, experimenting, dreaming and trying out everything.

Well, all of these are just a few coming of age moments. “These are the best years of your life," we’re told.

None of us can live this 'teenage dream' right now. 

Cooped up and contained inside. Not being able to see my mates. No parties or sleepovers. No school... I mean seriously? Who would have thought I'd actually miss going to school? I genuinely miss getting detention for talking too much, dazing off in class to the monotonous tones of my history teacher or scabbing 60 cents from my mate so I can buy something from the canteen.

I've spent hours and hours complaining about school, and ironically, here I am, wishing I could put my uniform back on and see my mates again. And ah, my friends. I'd sell my left kidney to see them again. 

But all of this has left me wondering... have I been robbed of my teenage years?

I know I know, I sound angsty. Woe is me. But these are frazzling times and no one knows how long they're going to last. I want to daydream for the future, but my bright future is clouded with uncertainty. What comes after? Will I be able to catch up on all the typical 'coming of age' tropes that movies and books lead me to believe?

I've mulled over this for a while now. Have my teenage years been stolen from me? Yes. And no. 

During isolation, I won't be able to go through the classic ebbs and flows of teenage life. But I will still be able to find my feet in a different, less conventional way. I mean, I see teenage years as figuring out who you are and who you want to be through trial and error.

 But I've figured that if I want to be productive and proactive, I need to just roll with the punches.

I want to figure out my values and opinions through movies, books, Ted talks, essays, online courses and podcasts. I want to muck around with hobbies and habits and find new things to pursue. I want to take crappy photos, dare to daydream, think about future jobs, travels and courses I could pursue. 

Then maybe, just maybe, when I can finally reunite with my mates, they'll notice that I'm a little different, a little more confident or creative with a better appreciation of life. Then I can continue where I left off in my teenage odyssey. Most likely starting with detention, to be honest. Agh, those were the days... 

But alas, it's certainly easy to feel like we've been robbed. But think of it as time 'borrowing' well... time. We'll get it back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.