April 26, 2020: Teenagers

Teenagers

The common consensus:  young people are trouble!

It’s like they live in their own little bubble.

It can be intense to be a teen:
New ideas; new feelings, but what do they mean?
As we attain to our own, we are caught in between

Being a child and yet almost grown.
Feeling protected, but being alone.
Needing our parents, but seeking our peers,
And the rights we demand can depend upon years.
What it means to be someone isn’t always so clear.

So a lot of adults won’t get involved
With kids when they have so much unresolved.

They’re scared to offer a new opportunity,
While the kids need a sense of continuity
From the nurture of home to the wider community.

We all need mentors as we seek our direction.
We all need the chance for those kinds of connections
That affirm the value of life as a whole,
Conceiving “employment” as a meaningful role,
Combining service and personal goal.

The fact is – young people are not all alike.
Some can be friends.  Some we won’t like.

Some into sports; some academic.
One likes his music, and wants to be a mechanic.
One must be serious, and another a comic.

Not just teens, but we all need to find
That which will open and focus the mind.
Some, though intelligent, don’t fit into school.
Some need more freedom.  Some need the rules.
Some work with people.  Some work with tools.

So it’s a challenge to find the right solution
To a teenager’s growth and contribution.

Where grownups may sometimes be stymied by doubt,
The young are more willing to try things out.
You can’t blame them for trying, but help show them a route
To put their passions into something constructive.
To wallow in guilt is self-destructive.
In one way or another, we’re all befuddled.
The world keeps changing, and if we stay in our bubble,
Whether young or aged, we’re all in trouble!

Each day is a chance to make a fresh start,

In recognition of our paths of the heart!