This Means I'm Getting Old

There’s something refreshing in the fact that teenagers, no matter where they live or what culture they’ve grown up in, are all exactly the same. I don’t like to stereotype, but they’re all inconsiderate little demons.

Now I’m not sure how the school system works here in Denmark, however, I have noticed that every time I’m on the main shopping street here, Stroget, whether it be 10 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon, there are always packs of teenagers giggling, yelling and running into people without apologizing. There they are decked out in their experimental clothing and metal mouths, at all hours of the day, not studying.

I know what some you might be thinking. Like, “Come on, give them a break, we were all there once.” I agree, but just because we all went through the same awful phase doesn’t make it right. I know it’s not their fault, which is why I am formally suggesting that the FDA start researching and testing a new drug to combat adolescence. Looking back on our own teenage years, I’m sure many of us wouldn’t have minded a cure back then either.

Those who know me personally may be thinking to yourselves, “That’s odd, because Michael used to be a teacher of teenagers.” WRONG! I taught 6^th grade, which is generally 11 and 12 year olds. The difference may not seem too big to those who haven’t worked with 6^th graders, but it’s actually huge. Yes, 6^th graders can certainly be a handful, but they still (for the most part) are willing to listen.

Anyhow, I hate to sound like the old granny deflating abandoned soccer balls landing in her backyard or the uptight teacher with a “June Drawer”, and of course I’m kidding about that whole drug testing thing. I just think it’s remarkable to me how even on these Danish cobblestone streets laid hundreds of years ago in front of beautiful fountains and buildings teeming with historical significance, teenagers can still manage to ooze that pervasive self-conscious moodiness and dangerous cockiness. As much as they don’t want to be, teenagers are so predictable.