Walked past the school I always walk past in the morning. Saw the same teenagers I always see hurrying to their first class or morning assembly or whatever they have to hurry to in the mornings. Actually, I always seem to meet different teenagers every day, how many students can there be in that school really?
Anyway, apart from my usual, semi-subconscious reflections - how glad I am not to be an awkward, scared teenager in school, how slightly envious I am of these kids with their glossy skin and bright futures - I suddenly got angry. At my own time in school, specifically those years (thankfully, only three) when the classrooms and crowded corridors were a war zone with potential enemies lurking everywhere. Where were the adults who were supposed to help, guide and protect? No teacher seemed to give a damn about a suffering fourteen-year-old. Parents offered help but when a stubborn kid claimed she could handle any problems on her own, they didn't press the issue. Bloody hell. A teenager can't cope with everything, no matter how convincing she sounds. They should have asked again, and again. Taken matters in their own hands and protected the kid, changed the world for her. Against her will if necessary.
What did I learn from this? That you'd better handle things on your own, because nobody else will be there for you. That there must be something wrong with me because I didn't succeed in making everybody love me when I was that shy fourteen-year-old. That it's a good idea not to be yourself, because who you are doesn't cut it.
Things can hardly be much better for teenagers now, in these days of even larger schools and fewer teachers and counsellors. It chills me to the bone when I think about it. As I walk past that school, suddenly all I see is lost souls going to their doom.
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