I’ve always wondered why teenagers long to be adults but adults wish they were teenagers again.

It’s highly likely for one to hear a teenager say, “Oh how I wish I was 21!” or “Adults have all the fun! I can’t wait to be an adult!”
It’s equally likely for one to hear an adult sigh, “I wish I was a teenager again!” or “How I wish I could have my school days back!”

After much consideration I’ve realised why each longs to be the other. It’s for the same reason actually, but with one BIG difference: teenagers ‘think’ that adults have the most fun but adults ‘know’ that teenagers do!

You see, teenagers see adults as free people, who don’t have limitations, restrictions and curfews. To us, adults have it all: they can drive, they have cars, they earn money, they can stay out late, they can watch whatever they want, they can enter casinos and clubs, they don’t have to go to school and worry about passing or failing, they can basically do as they please! In our opinion, adults have everything we want. What teenagers don’t realise is that adults also have demanding jobs, bills to pay and those who have families have to worry about making enough money to provide food and shelter, to pay school fees, to make sure that they can give their families a good quality of life.

Adults on the other hand know that your teenage years are the best years of your life, having been there and done that. Even your college years can’t compare with teenage years. A teenager’s biggest problems are doing badly at school, missing the best movie of the month, not making the cricket/netball team, and not dating the school hottie! Teenagers don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from, whether they will be able to pay the bills at the end of the month and whether they are secure in their jobs. Their transport is provided (so they don’t have petrol worries), their clothes are bought and their education is paid for. Educationally, teachers worry about their every need and unlike in college, teachers actually care whether you understand the work or not. If you fail, you’re not fired or forced to drop the course; you get another chance. Teenagers don’t realise that with all these complications, adults seldom get to enjoy all those things that they as teenagers once longed for (i.e. late nights out partying, money to spend without a second thought, etc). All in all, when compared with adults, teenagers lead fairly stress-free lives – which is why adults would give anything to be teenagers again!

It all comes down to the things we value at different points of our lives. Generally, teenagers value freedom and adults value being stress-free. And at the end of the day, adults win – because teenagers eventually become adults!