Teenage Years : Its Joys & Risks

Adolescence is the most exciting stage that a person goes through in life. It is the beginning of curious exploration and adventure-taking as we start to comprehend and appreciate LIFE, LOVE and all the BEAUTY around us. In this phase, we are gradually exposed to things that are somehow new to us; there are lots of opportunities and even risks we may get in.

As a teen, we are starting to come out in the open; our old skin of innocence is now peeled off to show the glow and brilliance of our new selves. It is the time we step into the threshold where blends of circumstances await, a more complicated and challenging environment will be our place of survival.

As we all know, teenagers today are much different from ages past. According to studies and observations, present youth are more aggressive, adventurous, liberated and confident. This was proven true and right since it is the REALITY we are facing now. Yes, there is joy in being a teenager, there are advantages but in contrast to that, there are also risks and disadvantages we could possibly unable to notice and avoid. Extra carefulness and responsibility are needed so as to distinguish the unsafe threats that may affect our attitudes, values, beliefs & behaviors. We are much prone to high risk of getting involved into something that could ruin our present and future life. There is what we call peer pressure – when we are careless about choosing the kind of company we fit in, we might be badly influenced, as it was said, “Bad company corrupts good character”. In all our adolescent years, we also experience the joy of loving and being loved. We feel attraction towards other people and it’s the time we enter into the confusing world of relationships. Consequences go along with our decision to get into such situation; it brings happiness but there are instances that we enjoy it temporarily for we might get hurt in the end. Though some may not, other teens regret having gone through sexual harassment, teenage pregnancy and early marriage.  These are the negative effects of our unwise and negligent acts.

As we walk through this long adolescent stage, plenty of risks are bound to meet us along the way. As normal part of growing up and getting mature, we may take some of them but we must be aware of all the precautions that are set to warn us. If we fail, all the joys we have in our teenage years would just be handful compared to all the regrets and disappointments as results of wrong decision-making and unhealthy risk-taking.