I hated being a teenager, they weren't the best days of my life. I wasn't bullied or anything don't get me wrong I had lots of friends, did well in school etc, I just look back on those years as being shit.
In my twenties I got the freedoms you crave and lapped them up. I was skint most of the time but I bloody well enjoyed them.
In a few weeks I'm about to turn 40 and I can hand on heart say my thirties have been the best decade of my life. I've worked hard, studied hard and played hard, I now have a great job, I'm married with a house, no kids, I go out still though these days it's festivals - beer and music, rather than clubbing. I don't drink as much as I did, but I still do.
I'm looking forward to my 40s, I feel like I've reached a milestone, but in a good way a lot of my friends are depressed about it. Why, what's the point? If you feel like you have missed out by the age of 40, do something about it, it's not too late.
So yeah, having bills and all that, it's just a fact of life, something you have to deal with and actually, having responsibilities is a good thing, not a bad thing. there is no reason why you can not make the most of your life and enjoy doing the things you want to just because you have left school and had to 'grow up'.
Is the best time in your life not Uni? That's what I've been told.
School's not fun - constant lessons, some of which you don't even like, exams which you're being told your "life depend on", spots, hormones, not being able to drink legally all that stuff.
Uni was one of the worst times of my life so far - in a way it was one of the best in terms of building character, but it nearly cost me my mental health.
You seem to be under the impression that everything you dislike about school will magically disappear when you leave. It won't.
You won't like everything you study at uni, exams will become even more important, spots and hormones don't disappear overnight and life isn't all about drinking.
I think the sooner you stop drawing this imaginary line between school and adulthood, the better. It's all life, and it all has its benefits and drawbacks.
I forgot to say that you will end up getting married to someone you stop finding attractive within a couple of years of marriage and spend the rest of your life fantasizing about what could have been with that girl who smiled at you once but who you were too shy to go and speak to.
I think yours is an interesting post and my feeling is that you may well do better than many.
Wow, an excellent post and I see that two other readers have quoted it in full so they must feel the same way! I can empathise on many points, although I was a "13+" graduate and I managed to avoid having a mental breakdown.
OP: your point about not wanting to work in a call centre is understandable as an example but do bear in mind that ALL "jobs" require you to work your Rs off in order to make money for someone else. I did that for two decades until "the penny dropped" and I realised that I'd acquired more than enough experience to work for myself so that I got half the profits (and the government got the rest).
Working for yourself isn't necessarily any easier but it does let you escape "the office politics". However, it does carry (a lot) more responsibility.
One piece of advice: don't get into debt. This means never borrowing money and never spending more on your credit card than you can definitely pay back at the end of the month. Once you have debt - especially a mortgage - you are well and truly stuck. It's almost impossible to save a lot of money and impossible to quit work for more than a month without risking the loss of everything. In effect, it means total loss of the freedom to do what you want.
Now someone's bound to ask: "how can I buy property without borrowing money?" Well, that's the challenge. If you want to own property then it's going to be difficult. But it's not impossible IF you can make enough money.
I hated being a teenager, they weren't the best days of my life. I wasn't bullied or anything don't get me wrong I had lots of friends, did well in school etc, I just look back on those years as being shit.
In my twenties I got the freedoms you crave and lapped them up. I was skint most of the time but I bloody well enjoyed them.
In a few weeks I'm about to turn 40 and I can hand on heart say my thirties have been the best decade of my life. I've worked hard, studied hard and played hard, I now have a great job, I'm married with a house, no kids, I go out still though these days it's festivals - beer and music, rather than clubbing. I don't drink as much as I did, but I still do.
I'm looking forward to my 40s, I feel like I've reached a milestone, but in a good way a lot of my friends are depressed about it. Why, what's the point? If you feel like you have missed out by the age of 40, do something about it, it's not too late.
So yeah, having bills and all that, it's just a fact of life, something you have to deal with and actually, having responsibilities is a good thing, not a bad thing. there is no reason why you can not make the most of your life and enjoy doing the things you want to just because you have left school and had to 'grow up'.
Totally agree with this post. Teenage life was shit despite having many good friends. After quite a few poor decisions I'm now settled with a house a partner and looking forward to being 40 in a few years time. Despite my degree and relatively high level of intellect it meant nothing in the real world. I still made stupid mistakes, I have had 4 jobs with two involving complete retraining with my pay going from high to very low working up again only to have it plummet. No one can predict the future and you may have an awesome adulthood but be prepared for all the crap life will throw at you.
Hiya hownwbrowncow. Im gonna start this off with a whole, i don't want to sound patronising thing. But I'm 19 so I guess I'm sort of the age you're wanting to be. I have my own flat, I'm in my second year of uni, I have a job to make my own money from. I'm independant. And half the time it's great, nobody needs to be told when you'll be back, you can do what you want, eat what you want and all that.
But once a month, I have to hand over £355 to my landlord. I have a £470 electricity bill (oops!) that my flatmate and I have to pay. You have to pay for your books for uni, any travelling costs, we also have virgin media so that's another £25 each. There's food costs, it's cold all the time because when you use the heating, you get bills like the one i mentioned before. So to so this, I've got my loan and I work five days a week, part time in a shop as well as going to uni around it..
Don't get my wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm happy, and I love living away from home (not that I don't love my parents). This is what i always wanted. But It's not nearly as easy as I expected.
However, I don't appreciate being called arrogant. I would describe it as ambitious. The thing is, when people said I was not interested in anyone else's opinion, that's not true. What im not interested is people telling me im arrogant and my opinion is wrong and im naive, and that's not the kind of replies I asked for in the title. What I asked for was if people felt the same.
You want to be an adult right? Well, as cliche as this is, that means you've got to be willing accept what people say. If you want people to treat you like a grown up, then you need to respect them. You said yourself you were speaking from a high horse, so why can't you accept that they're probably going to view you as arrogant.
Is the best time in your life not Uni? That's what I've been told.
School's not fun - constant lessons, some of which you don't even like, exams which you're being told your "life depend on", spots, hormones, not being able to drink legally all that stuff.
Uni can be great. It can also be terrible. It's gonna have topics that aren't of much interest to you. Say you go off to do something like journalism, you could end up in a sociology lecture because it's part of the course. I do Food and Nutrition, I've got lectures in law and psychology because they say it's important to the course. You can disagree and not want to do it, but that's not going to be a reason for you to fail.
Uni has plenty of exams, and coursework on top. You fail, you resit and it brings everything down. You can work for years for your degree and fail one teeny tiny exam and it flushes everything away. You end up with a degree that no employer cares about.
Also uni life can suck. I was in halls last year, and one of my flatmates was a total pothead. He stank out the flat, took no notice of us or the security guards asking him to at least not smoke it in the building. Then there's the dishes. a halls kitchen is never clean. You'll clean it and one person will come along and muck it up again.
Spots don't go away overnight, neither do hormones. They'll stay kick about for a lot longer than while your a teenager. And there will be nothing more annoying than that first time you go to buy alcohol and they decide not to ID you.
Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything. I was EXACTLY the same when I was 15. I was bored of waiting around for something to change. But responsibility can suck too...
I'm in the same boat as you OP I can't wait to go to college and uni but my mum always says that even though you want your dream job make sure you have a back up plan and a back back up plan. so for me my dream job is to work in films and on sets but as it's highly unrealistic my back up plan is hairdressing/ beautician and my back back up plan is psychology. I'm even ready to work the small jobs like waitressing or call centres when I need to, hopefully I won't have to do those jobs but hey ho they need doing and I will need money.
I was responding to another poster who reckoned he'd been posting since 2012 as a 15 year old. He/she was mistaken. I'm not thick. Just guilty of reading, responding, and not researching.
Enjoy being young OP and make sure you have a fun life. There's plenty time for responsibility - don't be like me and get to your late 20s and end up with few mates, living on your own and generally having a miserable existence. Although I have a decent enough job, buying/running a house and car will take most of your cash. Hobbies? Holidays? - What are those? Having said that, I was miserable at 15 and wanted to grow up, just don't do it the way I did.
OP wait until you are an adult, you'll soon wanna be a kid again.
I disagree tbh. Fair enough if your home and school life are pleasant. But if they are not, one is pretty powerless to do anything about it. Being stuck in an abusive home is bloody unpleasant.
When you're an adult it's invariably much easier to influence or change one's circumstances. You can shape your own future. And you have the maturity and confidence to be able to handle unpleasant circumstances much better.
This isn't really me asking for advice, more opinions.
Did anyone else feel like me, a fifteen year old when they were my age, not being able to wait to grow up!
I just can't wait to be independent. There's something really appealing to me about having my own flat/house, making my own money, getting a good job, being where I want to be, and just being able to be my own person, make my own decisions, rule my won life and how I choose to live it!
I really crave success right now - I can't wait to do something I feel motivated about - surely you feel more motivated about your job, than your school years, becuase firstly, you're earning money, and most of the time, you're doing something you enjoy! Being a success when I grow up is important to me - I have a rough idea of what career area I'd like to be in, and I would LOVE some day to start a business, and really show what I can do! I just hope that my life turns out so that this is possible!
So, yeah did anyone feel really anxious to grow up when they were my age?
Yes I felt the same as you and couldn't wait to get away from home.
Whatever anyone says you will do what you want. I did.
The one thing I would advise you is that there is nothing so great as having money in the bank. When times get tough having some cash to fall back on is very useful. So spend wisely, keep track of your spending and save. Now some people will say thats a boring outlook, but there is nothing so boring as being skint or having to beg parents for a loan!
Apart from that, enjoy the journey and make the most of every day, time will fly by and one day you will be nearly 40 like me!
This isn't really me asking for advice, more opinions.
Did anyone else feel like me, a fifteen year old when they were my age, not being able to wait to grow up!
I just can't wait to be independent. There's something really appealing to me about having my own flat/house, making my own money, getting a good job, being where I want to be, and just being able to be my own person, make my own decisions, rule my won life and how I choose to live it!
I really crave success right now - I can't wait to do something I feel motivated about - surely you feel more motivated about your job, than your school years, becuase firstly, you're earning money, and most of the time, you're doing something you enjoy! Being a success when I grow up is important to me - I have a rough idea of what career area I'd like to be in, and I would LOVE some day to start a business, and really show what I can do! I just hope that my life turns out so that this is possible!
So, yeah did anyone feel really anxious to grow up when they were my age?
Yes I did, I couldn't wait to grow up and have a family of my own. I'm 70 now and although I love my family dearly I wish I'd taken my time about it.
You're young for only a short time in your life, enjoy it while it lasts.
This isn't really me asking for advice, more opinions.
Did anyone else feel like me, a fifteen year old when they were my age, not being able to wait to grow up!
I just can't wait to be independent. There's something really appealing to me about having my own flat/house, making my own money, getting a good job, being where I want to be, and just being able to be my own person, make my own decisions, rule my won life and how I choose to live it!
I really crave success right now - I can't wait to do something I feel motivated about - surely you feel more motivated about your job, than your school years, becuase firstly, you're earning money, and most of the time, you're doing something you enjoy! Being a success when I grow up is important to me - I have a rough idea of what career area I'd like to be in, and I would LOVE some day to start a business, and really show what I can do! I just hope that my life turns out so that this is possible!
So, yeah did anyone feel really anxious to grow up when they were my age?
I hated being a bloody teenager, the only comfort is it doesnt last forever. Whoever says these are the "happiest days of your life" are talking bollocks plain and simple.
Oh- and being in your twenties isnt as great as its made out, theyre very insecure years, you're still finding your way in the world. Like an earlier poster, Ive found my 30's to be my happiest decade so far. But thats a heck of a long way off for the OP!
BTW- adulthood never works out exactly as you imagine, but you learn to take the rough with the smooth. Wouldnt want to return to being a teenager if you paid me a million pounds!!
This isn't really me asking for advice, more opinions.
Did anyone else feel like me, a fifteen year old when they were my age, not being able to wait to grow up!
I just can't wait to be independent. There's something really appealing to me about having my own flat/house, making my own money, getting a good job, being where I want to be, and just being able to be my own person, make my own decisions, rule my won life and how I choose to live it!
I really crave success right now - I can't wait to do something I feel motivated about - surely you feel more motivated about your job, than your school years, becuase firstly, you're earning money, and most of the time, you're doing something you enjoy! Being a success when I grow up is important to me - I have a rough idea of what career area I'd like to be in, and I would LOVE some day to start a business, and really show what I can do! I just hope that my life turns out so that this is possible!
So, yeah did anyone feel really anxious to grow up when they were my age?
Wow, that could have been me writing that when I was 15! I hated being a teenager because I just wanted to be an adult so badly and get away from home. I'm 26 now and I have to say, life is a billion times better than it was 10 years ago. School was bloody awful, there's no way they are the best days of your life! Yes I have to work and pay bills now but my choices are my own and the freedom is wonderful.
You're nearly there hownwbrowncow, time will start flying soon and you will be wondering where the years are going. ;-)
Just read back on some of the charming posts on here implying you are 'naïve' and 'arrogant'. At 15 you obviously don't have as much life experience but your opinions are just as important as anyone else's. Don't let anyone belittle you or make you feel small.
I agree with the post above. REMEMBER HOW YOUNG AND INNOCENT YOU WERE AT 15? Please stop bullying him just because he's confident and optimistic about his future.
For all we know, he could be famous and successful. He's young and bright enough to do anything he wants. He just needs a little bit of luck, which he'll get if he keeps his positive attitude.
Please don't change hownwbrowncow, there is only one you in this whole universe. You are special, please don't feel the need to change for anyone. Just be yourself. If people take offense, that's there issue.
You are 15 and you are a lot of more precocious than I was at 15.
Hi my dear/ Been reading through most of the replies and am horrified at how negative some (not all) of them are. When did so many people feel the need to use their own disappointments to try and squash the hopes and dreams of a young person? Did it make you feel better?
Does no one even credit the idea that this OP may actually achieve what he wants? That at 15 he may be prepared to work hard, get the qualifications he needs and then goes on to success? I sincerely hope so.
No - being a teenager is not an easy time - but again, it is the time when your whole life is ahead of you - with endless potential. Enjoy that time - grab the moment and be the best that you possibly can be. Good luck and best wishes for a wonderful life.
Comments
I hated being a teenager, they weren't the best days of my life. I wasn't bullied or anything don't get me wrong I had lots of friends, did well in school etc, I just look back on those years as being shit.
In my twenties I got the freedoms you crave and lapped them up. I was skint most of the time but I bloody well enjoyed them.
In a few weeks I'm about to turn 40 and I can hand on heart say my thirties have been the best decade of my life. I've worked hard, studied hard and played hard, I now have a great job, I'm married with a house, no kids, I go out still though these days it's festivals - beer and music, rather than clubbing. I don't drink as much as I did, but I still do.
I'm looking forward to my 40s, I feel like I've reached a milestone, but in a good way a lot of my friends are depressed about it. Why, what's the point? If you feel like you have missed out by the age of 40, do something about it, it's not too late.
So yeah, having bills and all that, it's just a fact of life, something you have to deal with and actually, having responsibilities is a good thing, not a bad thing. there is no reason why you can not make the most of your life and enjoy doing the things you want to just because you have left school and had to 'grow up'.
Uni was one of the worst times of my life so far - in a way it was one of the best in terms of building character, but it nearly cost me my mental health.
You seem to be under the impression that everything you dislike about school will magically disappear when you leave. It won't.
You won't like everything you study at uni, exams will become even more important, spots and hormones don't disappear overnight and life isn't all about drinking.
I think the sooner you stop drawing this imaginary line between school and adulthood, the better. It's all life, and it all has its benefits and drawbacks.
It is.
I forgot to say that you will end up getting married to someone you stop finding attractive within a couple of years of marriage and spend the rest of your life fantasizing about what could have been with that girl who smiled at you once but who you were too shy to go and speak to.
Wow, an excellent post and I see that two other readers have quoted it in full so they must feel the same way! I can empathise on many points, although I was a "13+" graduate and I managed to avoid having a mental breakdown.
OP: your point about not wanting to work in a call centre is understandable as an example but do bear in mind that ALL "jobs" require you to work your Rs off in order to make money for someone else. I did that for two decades until "the penny dropped" and I realised that I'd acquired more than enough experience to work for myself so that I got half the profits (and the government got the rest).
Working for yourself isn't necessarily any easier but it does let you escape "the office politics". However, it does carry (a lot) more responsibility.
One piece of advice: don't get into debt. This means never borrowing money and never spending more on your credit card than you can definitely pay back at the end of the month. Once you have debt - especially a mortgage - you are well and truly stuck. It's almost impossible to save a lot of money and impossible to quit work for more than a month without risking the loss of everything. In effect, it means total loss of the freedom to do what you want.
Now someone's bound to ask: "how can I buy property without borrowing money?" Well, that's the challenge. If you want to own property then it's going to be difficult. But it's not impossible IF you can make enough money.
Totally agree with this post. Teenage life was shit despite having many good friends. After quite a few poor decisions I'm now settled with a house a partner and looking forward to being 40 in a few years time. Despite my degree and relatively high level of intellect it meant nothing in the real world. I still made stupid mistakes, I have had 4 jobs with two involving complete retraining with my pay going from high to very low working up again only to have it plummet. No one can predict the future and you may have an awesome adulthood but be prepared for all the crap life will throw at you.
He's been 15 since he first started posting
It doesn't bode well...
Weird, I could have sworn this thread said 2012. I thought it was 2 years old...... soooooo sorry
But once a month, I have to hand over £355 to my landlord. I have a £470 electricity bill (oops!) that my flatmate and I have to pay. You have to pay for your books for uni, any travelling costs, we also have virgin media so that's another £25 each. There's food costs, it's cold all the time because when you use the heating, you get bills like the one i mentioned before. So to so this, I've got my loan and I work five days a week, part time in a shop as well as going to uni around it..
Don't get my wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm happy, and I love living away from home (not that I don't love my parents). This is what i always wanted. But It's not nearly as easy as I expected.
You want to be an adult right? Well, as cliche as this is, that means you've got to be willing accept what people say. If you want people to treat you like a grown up, then you need to respect them. You said yourself you were speaking from a high horse, so why can't you accept that they're probably going to view you as arrogant.
Uni can be great. It can also be terrible. It's gonna have topics that aren't of much interest to you. Say you go off to do something like journalism, you could end up in a sociology lecture because it's part of the course. I do Food and Nutrition, I've got lectures in law and psychology because they say it's important to the course. You can disagree and not want to do it, but that's not going to be a reason for you to fail.
Uni has plenty of exams, and coursework on top. You fail, you resit and it brings everything down. You can work for years for your degree and fail one teeny tiny exam and it flushes everything away. You end up with a degree that no employer cares about.
Also uni life can suck. I was in halls last year, and one of my flatmates was a total pothead. He stank out the flat, took no notice of us or the security guards asking him to at least not smoke it in the building. Then there's the dishes. a halls kitchen is never clean. You'll clean it and one person will come along and muck it up again.
Spots don't go away overnight, neither do hormones. They'll stay kick about for a lot longer than while your a teenager. And there will be nothing more annoying than that first time you go to buy alcohol and they decide not to ID you.
Look, I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything. I was EXACTLY the same when I was 15. I was bored of waiting around for something to change. But responsibility can suck too...
And you call him thick...
I disagree tbh. Fair enough if your home and school life are pleasant. But if they are not, one is pretty powerless to do anything about it. Being stuck in an abusive home is bloody unpleasant.
When you're an adult it's invariably much easier to influence or change one's circumstances. You can shape your own future. And you have the maturity and confidence to be able to handle unpleasant circumstances much better.
Yes I felt the same as you and couldn't wait to get away from home.
Whatever anyone says you will do what you want. I did.
The one thing I would advise you is that there is nothing so great as having money in the bank. When times get tough having some cash to fall back on is very useful. So spend wisely, keep track of your spending and save. Now some people will say thats a boring outlook, but there is nothing so boring as being skint or having to beg parents for a loan!
Apart from that, enjoy the journey and make the most of every day, time will fly by and one day you will be nearly 40 like me!
Nope, never. And my childhood was happy.
Yes I did, I couldn't wait to grow up and have a family of my own. I'm 70 now and although I love my family dearly I wish I'd taken my time about it.
You're young for only a short time in your life, enjoy it while it lasts.
I hated being a bloody teenager, the only comfort is it doesnt last forever. Whoever says these are the "happiest days of your life" are talking bollocks plain and simple.
Oh- and being in your twenties isnt as great as its made out, theyre very insecure years, you're still finding your way in the world. Like an earlier poster, Ive found my 30's to be my happiest decade so far. But thats a heck of a long way off for the OP!
BTW- adulthood never works out exactly as you imagine, but you learn to take the rough with the smooth. Wouldnt want to return to being a teenager if you paid me a million pounds!!
Wow, that could have been me writing that when I was 15! I hated being a teenager because I just wanted to be an adult so badly and get away from home. I'm 26 now and I have to say, life is a billion times better than it was 10 years ago. School was bloody awful, there's no way they are the best days of your life! Yes I have to work and pay bills now but my choices are my own and the freedom is wonderful.
You're nearly there hownwbrowncow, time will start flying soon and you will be wondering where the years are going. ;-)
Just read back on some of the charming posts on here implying you are 'naïve' and 'arrogant'. At 15 you obviously don't have as much life experience but your opinions are just as important as anyone else's. Don't let anyone belittle you or make you feel small.
For all we know, he could be famous and successful. He's young and bright enough to do anything he wants. He just needs a little bit of luck, which he'll get if he keeps his positive attitude.
Please don't change hownwbrowncow, there is only one you in this whole universe. You are special, please don't feel the need to change for anyone. Just be yourself. If people take offense, that's there issue.
You are 15 and you are a lot of more precocious than I was at 15.
Hi my dear/ Been reading through most of the replies and am horrified at how negative some (not all) of them are. When did so many people feel the need to use their own disappointments to try and squash the hopes and dreams of a young person? Did it make you feel better?
Does no one even credit the idea that this OP may actually achieve what he wants? That at 15 he may be prepared to work hard, get the qualifications he needs and then goes on to success? I sincerely hope so.
No - being a teenager is not an easy time - but again, it is the time when your whole life is ahead of you - with endless potential. Enjoy that time - grab the moment and be the best that you possibly can be. Good luck and best wishes for a wonderful life.