Читать книгу A Head Full of Everything - Gavin Oattes - Страница 7

Being a teenager is brilliant and shite.

Now, there's a sentence that's never been written at the start of any book ever. Until now, obviously. A famous author once told me, ‘Be sure to always start with a bold statement, Gavin!’

So, there's my bold statement. To be honest I could probably finish the book there too. A one sentence book. A one pager that would make more sense to teenagers than any other book ever written.

Being a teenager is brilliant and shite. The end.

Technically that's two sentences, but you get the idea!

Life gives us 7 years of teenagering. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot. And yet, it's EVERYTHING when you're in it. 7 years, that's 84 months of change, 364 weeks of weird and 2,555 days of WTAF!

Life throws everything it can at us during this time. All the highs, all the lows and everything in between. It's the ultimate sandwich of life. Kid life on one side, grown‐up life on the other. And in the middle, 61,320 hours of scrolling and inconvenience.

3,681,644 minutes. Every single one a gift.

Yes, a gift.

After all, you're lucky to be here. Of all the 100 million sperm, it was you. That, dear reader, is a very big thought and one that probably makes you want to throw up in your own mouth. But, it's also true. We are all lucky to be here. And the fact we get to ‘teenager’ for a while is really pretty special.

Parents tell us our teenage years are ‘the best years of our life’. They can be, but the truth is, most grown‐ups have forgotten that, sometimes, our teenage years are also horrendous.

Teenagers are completely misunderstood. The reality is, being a teenager is just like being a toddler all over again. Toddlers are always trying to discover their world in new and exciting ways, because they don't know anything about it.

You're also trying to discover the world too. But this time you've got every single stress imaginable on your shoulders. Friends, looks, parents, social media, exams, boys, girls, expectations, etc., etc.

The media paints a picture. They tell us you're all obsessed with sex and drugs. Apparently, you all sit on a lot of benches and get drunk, causing trouble.

Anytime I was unhappy or going through a tough time, my parents used to tell me it was down to hormones. Great, thanks for the helpful advice during this awful experience that I'm having, glad to hear it's just hormones….

Truth is, teenagers are decent human beings. I'm pretty sure you know very well that the choices you make now will affect the rest of your life. You don't need to hear this every single day. There's not a single teenager out there who aspires to live a life of regret.

For many it sucks to be a teenager. Treated like a child, expected to act like an adult.

Well, I've written this book to show you it doesn't have to suck. And when it does, there's some cool things you can do to make it suck a little less. See, you're not a child and you're not quite a proper adult yet either. You're a teenager.

When I was 11, I thought life would be better when I was a teenager. At 13, I couldn't wait to be 15. At 15, I was chasing 17. And at 17, I just wanted to be 21.

It all moves so fast and many of us are in such a hurry to grow up that we forget what it means to be young. Many are so focussed on the future that they forget to enjoy where they're at, right now.

What's the rush? Slow down.

In fact, let's slow down so much for a moment and put things firmly in reverse….