The teen years are the time when you feel like everything is within your reach.
Being a teenager Sometimes it isn’t easy to define what we are, but we know in what we believe, in what we are good and what our responsibilities are. Apart from this, when you grow up you become more independent and your peers naturally play a greater role in your life. You will probably develop close friendships in the new school and you may feel so connected to them that they are like an extended family. Besides this, I know what I’m me, I’m a young teenager, probably or not like you! I have good friends; some of them are my age. I believe that I will get a good job and that I’ll have success in my future. I’m good at certain things and I have responsibilities too and isn’t easy to keep, sometimes I would like to forget that they exist but it’s impossible. This is who I am. What defines you it isn’t the clothes that you wear or the way you talk! It’s the person inside you! It’s what you believe and you fight for. It’s what you are good at and your responsibilities that define who you are! If you are in a group and they say something for you to do and you feel uncomfortable with that situation, you just say no and express your feelings about that. If you believe in something you should fight for that and don’t give up. If you are good at something, don’t be afraid; show the people your capacities and abilities! In conclusion don’t give up on your dreams and don’t leave any body interfere with your choices because that will define you in the future! Carla Silveira, 10º5
Hard work In this stage of our life we start thinking about what we want for our future, in particularly our career. Our emotions and feelings are different, we make our own decisions, and we become independent and take a lot of responsibilities! Our body changes too and we are figuring out who we are, not only in physical aspects but in our attitudes, decisions and what we think about many things as well. School is the biggest problem of teens because we have so many tests, exams (it's hard work) and in some days we are exhausted, bored, wishing that school ends to have holidays. It's a period of stress! Our family tells us that the adolescence period is the best moment of life because we don't have to work like the adults do. In some cases the teens to get some money for them, have to get a work and study at the same time, which must be difficult I think. Adolescence is not only bad things; we have some time to have fun with our friends, to discuss our ideas and opinions together. This stage of our life is difficult because of the pressure to get good marks but in reality isn't so bad like we think. In the future we will laugh of all this! Tiago Pestana, 10º7
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The importance of your choices and decisions Well, it´s on the teenage years that you figure out a lot of things, because in the younger years your choices and decisions are influenced by your parents. In fact, your parents were the ones who even chose your friends. Then you grow up and start having more independence and you start making your own choices. That’s good when your choices are right, if they're wrong, they won’t only affect you, but, also everybody around you, and in the worst case scenario it will ruin the rest of your life. So don’t think that you´re young and you should make the best, yes, you can enjoy your life but always with precaution and sometimes listen to your parents, because, they have a lot more life experience than you do. So don’t forget, always think twice before doing something, because the rest of your life may depend on it. Diogo Figueira, 10º7
IN OUR AGES! Hi teenagers! I’m here to help you and clarify your ideas... Like everybody knows, when we are teens we have so much pressure on us that we are almost going crazy! We have our friends, our parents, our parent’s friends, always asking us what we want to be, what we are going to be…Oh my god! How can I know? I’m just sixteen, thank you! Alright, let’s stop with this! I am a teenager and I don’t know what I will be. I don’t care very much about that, have still time, little, but I have. My personality isn’t all developed but is almost there! My place in the world, for now, it’s here, studying, to be in a different place in the future. Most of you aren’t like me, you don’t know what you are, if you are good at something or not, if you believe in this or not… Don’t care about that! You are a teen! You have to get the best of that age. You don’t need to care about that, with time all answers to your questions will come! When your parents ask you what you want to be you say: “I don´t know mom, but one day I will know, don’t worry about that”, and okay, they will stop with those questions. Everybody is different, everybody chooses different ways, and everybody changes. You will be different in two or three years. I will be different! But we will be special forever whatever the place we are, with who… Your real “you” will appear and stand till the day you die! Relax, take a great orange juice and enjoy the trip, because when you’ll be an adult, you won’t have the opportunities that you have now!
Mónica Laura Rodrigues.10º8
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Build up a teen life, a new life Being a teenager is like having a new computer. You have to do the process all over again to install the programs you need and make it a part of you. The teen life is like that. You’re different from who you were in your childhood, you don’t know who you are and it can be very confusing. So, you start all over again, a new life, a new opportunity to change your life and who you are for the rest of your life. It’s a hard process; it’s like being in the desert without knowing what to do. In school you’ll have the opportunity to find out what you are good at and it doesn’t matter what, you just have to enjoy whatever you’re doing. If your friends know what they’re good at and you don’t, it’s quite simple: just let your life roll and at the right time it’ll tell you. That’s where I find more problems, in friends, especially if they’re older than you. Friends usually like to go to parties and get drunk, smoke cigarettes and think about sex. Even if you’re not prepared, they make you follow them to do that kind of things and you feel pressured, a pressure that is hard to resist and most of the times teens don’t resist. Then, we have the teen love. A teenager sees someone beautiful and kind, and falls in love with him/her. In the beginning it feels like butterflies in your body, you just think about that person but when you’re not loved back, you’re heartbroken and you feel depressed. Or even when you love each other and it isn’t working; it crashes your heart, your world. All of that affects your grades and your parents start treating you like a drug addicted. You feel pressure from all sides and you start to feel lost. You have to make your own decisions, knowing what’s good or bad, when to say “no” and when to stop. No one decides who you are. What makes who you are it the decisions you make, your actions. Don’t let the pressure crashes you, you’re bigger than it! Just think about what is good for you and for others, to have balance in your life. You’re responsible for your own actions and if you make bad ones, you’ll suffer the consequences. So, don’t! Because this is life changing and once you make it, there’s no turning back. Beatriz Camacho, 10º7
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What defines a teenager today? Being a teenager means going through a period full of physical and emotional changes in what I consider, often, a moment of crisis. I don't describe adolescence as a simple adaptation or transformation of your body, but as an important part of life that corresponds to various positions taken on the social level (in “finding” good friends, and having our own style – emo, punk,...), the family level (we are going to give more value to things that we weren't very interested in and change our sense of humor), and finally, sexual level (sexual maturity and first intercourse). Beyond puberty, we go through bad moments with our family, friends and especially, with boyfriends; weight problems (obesity and anorexia), depression, being a teen mom, bullying, stress and situations with tobacco and alcohol... But...life isn’t all roses, as we know... we also know that we must fight to win... In other words, we must achieve our objectives, leaving some and getting others... In the life of a teen, there is always suffering... Or as we can never have the attention of certain people or fail to answer our own questions and think we are different from others... But over time, just to realize that everything in our illusion and that all are equal in adolescence... But different... Luísa Silva, 10º5
Who am I? Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood and it ''happens'' between 13 and 19 years old. This period is probably the most difficult phase you'll live, because you go through a lot of physical and psychological changes. You feel pressure from everyone: your parents, your school, your peers... When you're a teen you start (or at least want to) figuring out who you are and what you believe. But these two points can be influenced mostly by your friends and your doubts start to come out and you don't know who you are anymore. Besides this, your parents start to give you responsibilities and you don't even want it. And as if this wasn't enough you have to decide what you want to be in the future, what career you will choose... and to make these choices, you also need to find out what you're good at! Have I already mentioned that adolescence isn't an easy phase? Well, we all need to go through all these decisions and pressure, there's no escape. So be calm, don't freak out, make choices consciously and enjoy your teenage years that can be marvellous! Mariana Gomes, 10º8
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Who Am I ? Have you already heard this expression: “The best about the adolescence is that it ends!”? Well, I think it is true, I’m a teen so I know what I’m talking about; it’s a mix of feelings in a short period of our lives. In this teen period or “teen years”, which starts at “thirteen” and ends at “nineteen”, we, teens, are in a world of discovery. One of these discoveries is maybe the main one, the discovery of who you are. You think you haven’t changed but you have changed your mind, changed your friends, school. Everything has changed and you feel the same. You begin to choose what you really believe, your religion, your world, you now don’t believe in Santa. You see what you really good at, you make hard decisions like choosing your course in school, and you have to be responsible. Time doesn’t stop, and here, time seems to be running faster. You have to conciliate school and your hobbies. Your parents are constantly worried about you, and you ignore them lots of time. You have your mind somewhere else. Here, your humor changes in a minute, one minute you’re excited and in another you’re crying. The teen period can be very tough but it can also be really good. You have to think a lot about what you “want to be” and it’s half world giving you advice, and you’re afraid to disappoint the people you love. Teen period it’s your Identification Card for the rest of your life and you are the one who makes that. Luis Pereira 10º7
Adolescence Becoming an adolescent is a great thing. It is the transition of childhood to adulthood. You start to figure out what you want from life, your body starts changing, your parents give you more freedom, etc. There are also bad things about becoming a teenager, you sometimes feel like your family doesn’t understand you; you start to think that you aren’t normal, your friends start to pressure you… When you’re at school, you see groups of people that dress better, are prettier than you, have more friendships than you and then your self-esteem will go below zero. So, the thing that you want is to become like them, act like them, dress like them… This may sound pretty, but it’s not. They sometimes force you to do things that you’re not ready to or don’t like, for example smoking, drinking, stealing or sometimes even have sex. They start to judge your appearance by saying that you’re fat, you need to lose weight, so instead of eating just healthy food and doing exercise you stop eating and get anorexia. Your parents start to worry, they can’t get hold of you and that may bring big family and health problems. My big advice is to be who you are, don’t let anything get in your way and always think: “You people laugh at me because I’m different, well I laugh at you because you’re all the same.” Marina Jesus, 10º6
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Teenagers: The Unpainted Canvas of Life We teens are like a blank canvas, still figuring out what colours to use when we paint our future and still trying to find the people with whom we want to share our future and help paint their future intertwined with ours. It’s in our teenage years that we make some of the most important discoveries in our life, for instance, who we want to be; what we truly believe in; in what subject, sport or job we shine; we learn responsibilities and we find our place in the world. Considering the human life-span a painting I can say this: when we are born, we are merely the nail in the wall from which we hang the painting that is our life. As children we get our canvas, our supports and the paintbrushes. As teens we go through the hardest part, dealing with many problems and many joys, as the teenage years pass by we find ourselves with the skills and techniques needed to be successful, but we must be cautious for what we do in our teenage years will determine how the painting of life is going to be. For that reason we must choose carefully what colours to use, what kind of life we want to paint and how we want to paint it. As adults we give the painting its finishing touches, facing many indecisions and doubts we must still work hard to go on. As elders, the so called golden years, we look back at our lives, either with great joy or with great sorrow as we apply the final coat and polish our painting and in death the painting is hung upon the wall, immortalizing our lives for all those who dare remember.
Michael, 10Âş8
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Who are you? At this time, you're probably trying to figure out who you are, in what you believe in, what you're good at, what your responsibilities are, where your place in the world is,..., and that's totally normal; every teen does it! You're growing up, getting different in several ways, becoming independent, and all of that stuff, but sometimes, you probably feel like it's the end of the world when something goes wrong and then you don't know what to do: as I said, that's normal, and it is called adolescence or, as we know, puberty. When your peers ask if you want to smoke (for example), when you normally don't do that, you don't know what to do, but you don't want them to get mad, you just need to do what you think it's right! Sometimes it can be difficult, yeah, but haven't you ever heard the sentence ''what goes around, comes around’’? That means that if you do the right choice, you'll be fine. That's peer pressure, also a normal thing. Tell you what, when you feel like this, you just need to relax, stay calm and then think about the situation to get a bright and shining idea of what you should do, enumerating the pros and the cons of it, to help you with it. And when you're feeling blue, remember: if you are like this that means that you are just a normal person.
Ana Margarida Vieira, 10º5
The life of teens Being a teen is very difficult but it has good things like everything else. Sometimes adults say that we don’t do anything, we don’t have serious problems and they also say: “I would like to have your age again”. Maybe they think that we don’t care about anything and I just think: “oh, not really. Adolescence is the beginning of our real life”. It is in adolescence that we have our first love even if people think that we don’t know what real love is, it is in adolescence that we start to think about what we want to be in the future, what are our goals. It is also in adolescence that we start to be more independent but also with much more responsibilities. All people say that teens are the future, teens are the world and I agree because in the future we will be independent and maybe without our parents but also I think that we have to live one day to time, with no hurry to grow up.
Catarina Costa, 10º5
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Teenager, what to do? When you are going through this age (13 to 19 years old), you may face lot of serious problems, like drinking and smoking. Your relationship with your parents, normally gets worse, but don't worry, it's normal. It's in this time of your life when you decide what you want to do for your life, it's here that you discover what you are and will be good at, but for that to happen, you have to try different things, but not harmful things. With age come greater responsibilities, these words are important for you, because it's when you are passing through this age, that your parents and family starts having confidence in you, to maintain that confidence you have to have great responsibility, Adolescence is when your body starts developing, so it is normal to appear facial hair and other things. So live it to the maximum because this age won't last forever. João Silva, 10º6
The challenge of adolescence Like all teenagers can say: it’s the hardest time of your life. I also know that most adults don’t agree with it, they say that we haven’t seen half of the problems they have to deal with. That’s also true bur they have to understand that they are already prepared for that, we are just beginning our trip in the world of adults. Besides the difficult part, the adolescence it’s also a really wonderful time in the human life. It’s when your personality comes out, when you find out what you’re good at, when you have your first and most beautiful love, it’s when you decide who you are going to be. Yeah, now comes the bad part, your responsibilities, the pressure from your friends, family, school, love. That’s the hardest part and you’ll see that you’ll suffer very much with it. You’ll think that no-one understands you, that you are the unhappiest person in the world and things like that… Do you want my advice? “Don’t worry, be happy.” I know, I know, it isn’t mine but he is right, isn’t he? Seriously, smile at the problems; don’t give up on trying to grow up. You’ll see that, when you’re happy, the difficulties are easier to face…
Mª João Berimbau, 10º6
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The problems of being a teenager
The teens have many problems every day. I’m a teen and I know these problems. We want to be independent and our parents get afraid and limit our independence. About our appearance girls want to dress better and don’t like themselves. Another example is that getting a boyfriend or a girlfriend is also a problem for teens. We want to be good in everything and we want to show to our friends and family that we have grown up and we can have responsibilities. Our parents don’t understand the period of adolescence because they only think about drugs, drinks and it is wrong. The parents should believe in us. I think that for the parents to believe us, we should talk with them and make them believe us and trust. So talk to your parents and don’t get crazy with your friends, make a difference and be happy with peace and love. Mariana Azevedo, 10º6
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Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world. Virginia Satir
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