Sophia Week 5: Young, Dumb, and Broke

As teenagers in high school, the assumptions made about us seem to be non-stop, absurd, and endless. Every adult always assumes that because we’re young and haven’t experienced “the real world” yet, that we are immature and always doing dumb things. While on one hand, I can see where they’re coming from, I feel like most adults, especially those who are complete strangers to us, don’t give us credit where credit’s due. They always say that we’re too young to pave the way for our future, but is that really true?

From day one, society has painted teenagers as rebellious young adults who are so-called disgraces to their communities. 50 years ago, you never would have seen someone like Greta Thunberg, a young woman advocating for our planet, speaking worldwide, and it’s not because teenagers back in the day didn’t care. Simply, it’s because, from the getco, teens have never gotten a chance to speak their truth. I mean, what do we know, it’s not like our brains have fully developed yet. At least that’s how adults think of us. Really though, when adults invalidate our emotions and our problems by chalking them up to “teenage hormones”, our voice is taken away from us. How can we be painted as anything other than young, dumb, and broke when we’re never given the chance to prove otherwise? 

Sure, adults can pretend to understand us as they were once teenagers too, but every generation is different, and every person has their own story. Yet, that truth doesn’t stop everyone else from believing the same old stereotype that’s been cast upon us for hundreds of years. The assumption that we don’t know what the reality of life is. This can reference multiple points, one being that we don’t know what we want to do with our future. For instance, even before I started high school, I knew that I wanted to work in the medical field, specifically as a surgeon. I’ve been adamant about this for a while and have even discussed the opportunities I have to pursue my passion while I am still in high school with my parents. In spite of all this, other people still always tell me that I am too young to know what I want to do with my life and that I am bound to change my mind, especially once college rolls around. So while I know that it’s a possibility that I might not end up in medicine, it’s not a guarantee, and right now, it’s what I see for my future. Most adults don’t understand that though, and therefore, don’t acknowledge or support mine or any other teenagers’ dreams. The same goes for the beliefs and values we hold dear. If we’re too young to go vote or register politically, we’re too young to have opinions on both political and world issues, and especially too young to share them. That’s not the truth though. Just like whether or not we think a piece of pizza is good or if we can understand a lesson in math, teenagers can think and understand world issues. By depriving us of the opportunity to express our opinions in the present, the idea of sharing our thoughts in the future feels just as forbidden. 

Nowadays, more people are speaking out about their beliefs and values than ever before. Due to the rise of social media and the internet, both adults and teenagers alike have the opportunity to make a change in the world, whether that be through words or actions. So while adults might still discredit what we say, they can’t stop us from being heard anymore, and maybe, that will open the eyes of society. Maybe, adults will come to realize that just like them, our opinions are valid and meaningful. Most importantly, though, we might start to get credit where credit’s due.