Teen speak for themselves

I WISH MY PARENTS WOULD NOTICE THAT I:

·      Just don’t want to talk sometimes, and I’m not being rude, I just don’t want to talk about everything all the time.

·      Do try and that I give 100% but they do not understand.

·      Am trying.

·      All the good things that I do, instead of all the bad things that have come up in the past.

·      Don’t do a lot of bad things that other teenagers my age do and that I do listen and care about what they say.

·      Try very hard and when you yell it’s always for absolutely no reason and I end up breaking down and crying.

·      Try harder in school when they are not checking in on my school work every second.

·      Am actually really good at school and try hard just for them instead of only noticing when I do badly.

·      Really do try, and what they say to me doesn’t go in one ear and out the other. I listen even when they don’t think I am.

·      Am as normal as everyone else.

·      Actually do try very hard in school but it just doesn’t show.

·      Do really good in school just to make them happy. They are my main motivation because they mean so much to me.

·      Try really hard at the things they want for me and that I am not a stupid girl.

·      Really have tried to be good and more respectful and better in school, even when they find something wrong with what I did.

·      Care about them way more than I think they feel about me.

·      Do try really hard even though I’m not perfect, and that I really do love and respect them.

·      Do try to make a difference with everything I do even though sometimes it’s hard.

I think that the theme here is that there is a alot more going on than meets the eye. What speaks to me in these comments from 14-18 year olds, is that what you see is only half the picture. They worry that you take their behavior at face value. There is much more going on that teens often cannot articulate, and feel your disappointment in them so keenly that they often just shut down rather than try to talk and explain the fuller story. Food for thought.