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Growing Up

I hate waking up at six a.m., or at least I used to. I remember hearing that alarm sounding loudly at six o'clock every morning, and myself rolling around, trying to drown it out. I was always wishing for just a few more minutes in my dream world; a few more minutes away from reality. That was me at the beginning of my teenage years; the typically rebellious, obnoxious, pimply youth. But with age comes maturity, and with maturity comes responsibility.

Now I set the alarm to six o'clock a.m., even during the summertime, and I am always up on time, and ready for whatever the day may bring. I cannot sleep in anymore because I will feel like I have wasted irreplaceable hours that I could have used studying, writing, painting, or practicing my saxophone. In the past, I would let my grades slip, and I would not even care (that is until my parents saw my report card, then I would feel remorse on my backside). I now apply myself fully to my education. I am making sure that I am prepared now, so I can face the more difficult tasks in life later. School takes more prestige in my life now.

When I was first hit by puberty, I got the idea that if I do what everyone else does, and wear what everyone else wears, I will be accepted. What I did not see about conformity was that I would be losing my identity, which is a real problem amongst teens today. Now the word 'cool' is just another meaningless expression to me. There are too many teenagers who let popularity become obtrusive, making it their first priority in life. As sad as this makes me to see the future of America falling into this black hole, I can only worry about myself right now. But I am not the only one who takes life more seriously than that. When I began to mature, I saw that my friends (whom are comprised mostly of band students), had already 'seen the light', and were going through life at full throttle.

 I could not stand being left in the dark any longer, so I began studying harder, and taking life head on. Although I am not prosperous now, I do have hopes in a writing career in my future. Writing is something that I can honestly say I enjoy, along with art and music. Thanks to one of my special friends, I have been feeling more able to write than I ever thought I would. Through all the pressures in life, you must try and find friends that have good self-discipline, because people like that are better to be around. They are people who understand the difficulties of early life, and are very encouraging, and a little inspiring. I have my friends to thank for what my life is becoming.

When you want to work hard, and you want yourself to be successful, you are basically signing a contract that says, "I will work day and night to perfecting my skills, and I will not allow any distractions." Even though the world today throws many things my way, I will stay committed, and remain self-disciplined, so that I can push those things to the side, and focus on the matters at hand. But of course, being young and human, I cannot force everything to the side.

 Nobody is perfect, though we all strive to be. High School will also continue to throw things like peer pressure my way. To many pressures envelope the youth of America, and try lead them astray of the correct course. It is truly difficult to tell yourself to do the things that will be better for your future, when there are so many things that look like fun now. I can easily see the discrepancies between myself in the past, and me in the present; this gives me hope. I hope that all teens will keep a ready and able mind, so that we can be ready to take on anything that life will throw our way.

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