“Hey,” a peer says to you.

All these thoughts race through your mind: “What should I say? Say something quick! There’s that long moment of silence again. AWKWARD!!”

Teenage life is stressful, hard, crazy, and so many other words. “If I could describe my teenage years in one word, it would be hormonal because it’s that stage in your life when you’re grouchy and sleepy all the time,” says Summer Williams, 8th grader.

Have you ever been in a weird situation with another teen? Wondering if you should do this or say that? Valerie Gonzalez, 8th grader, says,”An awkward situation I’ve been in with another teen is liking someone and staring at them for a really long time and you don’t know what to say.”

These are the years we all have to go through. It’s different, uncomfortable, and confusing, but it’s important. It’s that time in our lives that will help us grow and become more mature. All students go through that emotional roller coaster clueless.

Not only do you have to go through the hardships of crazy emotions, but you have a lot more responsibilities to take care of. “People think I have time for everything. They expect you to do more responsibilities,”Gonzalez expressed.

Parents expect you to take care of yourself when they’ve left home already or teachers expect you to get homework done and turned in early or on time. Students feel the pressure to always do everything right.

People make mistakes sometimes, but they learn from it. This is one of the major stages of their lives where they become one step closer to becoming adults. There will always be room for teens to grow, but this is the main stage of people’s lives where they get to know more about the real world. “It’s not the greatest stage, but you got to get through it to be great,” Williams stated.

Others may think that being a teen is awesome, but some may think: I can’t wait until this is over! Teenage days are crazy and everyone wonders what struggles, problems, and life situations they might encounter throughout their day.

Teens also change physically, like going through growth spurts and developing acne. Some teens grow so tall that they tower over us and our necks hurt just from looking up and talking to them.

Developing acne can be difficult and painful as well. Don’t you feel a little embarrassed going to school with a bunch of red bumps on your face? Sometimes your face may be itchy and you accidentally scratch the wrong spot. Ouch!

These years could be the best and worst years of your life. It may not go the way you want it to, but if you get through it right, and with a mature and positive attitude, you’ll turn out to be a responsible adult.