Yourself as a teen?.. - Page 2

[flapjack]

Yes. I was a nightmare teen (classically over-the-edge, yet at the same time ridiculously, overprotected by my parents.) Not a good mix. The one thing I really wish is that I'd got a handle on my depression earlier and got some serious, intensive treatment for it as a teenager before leaving home for university. That would have made a big difference to my life. Everything else I survived.

[chiromamma]

Promiscuous Party Girl!
I was voted Class Partier my senior year. Not exactly one to put on your C.V.!
Thank God the internet and MySpace didn't exist.
I would have done it all differently. I had fun but wasted lots of time, money and brain cells.
It was fun. And I have a great life now.
OK, I wouldn't change everything. I would have only smoked dope on the weekends, applied myself in school, played a sport and stayed a virgin until I was in love.

[Ornery]

It is really hard for me to pinpoint exactly what I would change. Almost every decision that I made from age 11 until 19-20. However, if not for the horrific things that I experienced and saw, I would not be the person I am today. I was not the classic "bad girl", I went above and beyond bad.

I hope and pray that my children do not go through a percentage of what I did.

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by chiromamma

OK, I wouldn't change everything. I would have only smoked dope on the weekends,

[Arduinna]

The only thing I regret from my teen years was the one thing that got me arrested. And no it wasn't DUI.

[granola_mom]

Originally Posted by Oriole

Is there anything that you have done as a teenager that you would never repeat now as an adult?

My biggest teenage regret was leaving thailand to go back to high school in canada. I was in recovery from an eating disorder that I'd had all my teen years, and convinced my parents to let me leave school temporarily to volunteer for a month in Thailand... they thought at that time that I was pretty much over my eating disorder, but it was very much still alive. I remember visiting the bathroom several times in the airplane on the way over there Very Jane Fonda of me, eh

Going to thailand and volunteering was the best thing I could have done and for me, better than my years of therapy. The entire time I was there I ate healthy and rarely thought of food, weight or any of those issues. My confidence in myself really strengthened and it really helped me find myself again as a person seperate from eating disorders. Anyway, my biggest regret was leaving too soon. I really did NOT want to leave, in fact I wanted to stay there for a year. I cried when I left, but I felt I had no choice but to go back and finish high school, as I only had one semester left and I was already a year and a half behind due to dropping out to rehab from my eating disorder. Now I know better, and feel it would have been fine to put off high school even longer, or even not finish it if I didnt want to.

I really think if I could have stayed there longer I would have developed more strength in myself and it would have done me a helluva lot better than high school did. I relapsed when I got home Several months after being home, i got pregnant. So, while that was technically the best thing to ever happen to me... and I haven't had an eating issues since then... now that I have a baby its going to be a while before I can do that sort of thing again, I always think back on it fondly and wonder what would have become of me if I stayed longer. Of course, everything happens for a reason though.

I made tons, tons, tons of other mistakes and negative judgements as a teen but I mostly feel they all shaped me into who I am today and while they hurt at the time, I'm stronger for it today in some ways (still recovering in other ways)... that even includes getting arrested, which turned into a positive thing for me believe it or not. I mostly regret the thailand thing because I felt at the time like I had to live up to society's expectations for me, and staying in thailand wasn't it. I wish I would have listened to and trusted myself.

[mammal_mama]

I wish I hadn't cared so much about the opinions of people who cared nothing about me.

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by Transitions

Is this a trick question? LOL

Yea, theres a lot.

ha ha ha! I was thinking the same thing.

uhhh, let's see. Yes I would not have sex at 15, skipped school, partied so hard, been so defiant, followed everything my so-called friends were doing (where are they now?), slept over with those same friends and snuck out of their house and walked the streets all night long, stayed with the same boyfriend for many years and allowed him to verbally abuse me, and the list goes on....

I would have finished high school, gone to a good college and hopefully gotten married much earlier and started having kids earlier. Oh and I would have gotten a degree and made something of myself. Now I'm currently struggling to get through college in my 40's. It's very tough.

[rhubarbarin]

I had severe depression as a teen, stayed in bed most of the time for years, and hated school (I'd hated school since 1st grade, but it just got worse and worse). I was too depressed and anxious to eat much, so I was always exhausted and never felt very good. It was mostly due to my home situation and it's all been uphill since I moved out at 19.

Yes, I would change everything! If only I could go back and tell myself that I didn't have to be trapped and hopeless.. I should have taken care of my body, dropped out of HS at 16, gotten my GED, a job, and an apartment and started my 'real life'. I could have done it easily, I wasted years I didn't have to.

Luckily I didn't drink, do drugs or have risky sex during this time.. I was too depressed to do anything except sleep, read and watch tv.

However because of the way things worked out I met my BF, who is my next-door neighbor.. I wouldn't change anything if it means I wouldn't have met him.

[Ellien C]

OK - I wish I had taken a few more risks. I was a really good kid!

I would have gone more places the summer I had the Fiat Spider convertible from my Dad and taken the hard top off. My Dad put the fear of breakdowns in me and said the car only had so many miles in it and if I used them up, that would be it! I only drove it to and from work. I would have taken it to Fire Island to see James Taylor. And I really should have taken the hard top off it.

In college - I wish I'd tried pot?! I spent my free time in basements playing D&D. I wish I had gone on a few more trips - road trips, bus trips, etc. I was always too practical, too busy, too poor. There was a march in Washington that I should have gone on. And a road trip for live gaming that I'm still sorry I missed.

[stickywicket67]

i was teen in the 80's i graduated highschool in '85.

i was a bit of naive in high school for the most part. didn't drink or do drugs at all. i was into nature, photography, music, books, art- i was kind of a dreamer. now those things seem to be more acceptable and encouraged. back then it was all about sports and preppies.

i did like boys and made it a personal mission to kiss as many as i could before graduation.

but i wish i had applied myself more- just done the work and gone on to college. i was shy, i wasn't insecure, just under- confident.

i was in AP classes at one point but the more sophisticated girls in the class made fun of me and i flunked out so i didn't have to have classes with them.

i never gave myself the chance to really explore what i liked to do. i closed doors because i was too scared to put myself out there. i often wonder where i would've ended up with more self confidence as a teen and more educational opportunities.

[stickywicket67]

Originally Posted by Ellien C

OK - I wish I had taken a few more risks. I was a really good kid!

I would have gone more places the summer I had the Fiat Spider convertible from my Dad and taken the hard top off. My Dad put the fear of breakdowns in me and said the car only had so many miles in it and if I used them up, that would be it! I only drove it to and from work. I would have taken it to Fire Island to see James Taylor. And I really should have taken the hard top off it.

In college - I wish I'd tried pot?! I spent my free time in basements playing D&D. I wish I had gone on a few more trips - road trips, bus trips, etc. I was always too practical, too busy, too poor. There was a march in Washington that I should have gone on. And a road trip for live gaming that I'm still sorry I missed.

you should get yourself a used little convertible one summer. just for fun!

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by stickywicket67

you should get yourself a used little convertible one summer. just for fun!

Yeah, or even just rent one for a day or two some weekend. Steal that experience back!

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by mammal_mama

I wish I hadn't cared so much about the opinions of people who cared nothing about me.

Oh man, this is so so true for me too. I was just telling my Dd about this too.

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by stickywicket67

i was in AP classes at one point but the more sophisticated girls in the class made fun of me and i flunked out so i didn't have to have classes with them.

AP classes? I think those letters must stand for something besides Attachment Parenting! But I dunno ... I've attended LLL meetings where the other mommas seemed more lucrative, more well-toned, and waaay more trendy and better-dressed than me! But they didn't make fun of me, and their sophistication didn't make me want to drop breastfeeding! I guess I've come a long way since highschool (as I'm sure we all have!).

[BedHead]

WAY too many things to list here! I was, shall we say, not a good teen.

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by UnschoolnMa

Oh man, this is so so true for me too. I was just telling my Dd about this too.

Yeah, when I thought about it, I realized the choices I made around that "worry" (about what the "popular" kids would think of me) were the ones that still make me cry inside. I can remember waving at a friend when discovering we had the same math class -- he was gesturing for me to sit by him, but I sat across the room, rather than risk sharing in his "fate": he had great big acne-boils on his face that the other kids were razzing him about.

This friend is actually a relative -- and years later I asked his forgiveness for that, and he was cool about it. He's since grown into quite a handsome guy! But, you know how life is: People move on and have their families, and some of the childhood opportunities are lost. I'll never know what might have blossomed, had I been a real friend and stuck with him during that difficult time.

There was this feeling -- I don't know if all the unpopular kids felt it, but I did -- that as long as we stayed isolated, we wouldn't get picked on "as much" as we would if we got together. I also felt like I could stay in denial of my own unpopularity, if I wasn't hanging out with the other "nerds."

[kewb]

Originally Posted by Oriole

Is there anything that you have done as a teenager that you would never repeat now as an adult?

I am pretty sure that as an adult now I am not going to go to the beach, get drunk, and then pee behind the lifeguard stand.

[mommy777]

lol, yes!

[harrietsmama]

I would have spoken up for myself sooner and moved in with my Grandma after Junior High instead of at the end of my sophomore year. My parents did a lot of damage. I would have made other mistakes, but not nearly the ones I made without supervision and lack of apparent love. Things got immediately better once I moved in with Grandma and Grandpa.