Hi, I’m Tatyana. I’m a 15-year-old girl still trying to figure out life’s struggles like the rest of us and if I’m being honest, it’s hard, especially in this generation as a teenager. So, I’ve decided to take it upon myself and share bits and pieces of my day, just so someone out there feels seen. So… as for what to expect on here, I honestly, really don’t know, lol. I can be very random, so expect this blog to be as random as the writer :). But I hope to build a healthy and loving community here, where everyone feels as safe as possible while keeping boundaries, please :). With all that being said, let’s move on to our first topic for today <3
Everybody’s Doing It So…Why the Fuss?
Okay, okay, I get it, African parent-core of me to start like this but it has been on my mind for a while now, and no matter how I think of it… ou parents are right (my mom loves it when I admit this lol). No matter how annoying or angering it is to hear them say it. As teenagers, there is so much unnecessary pressure put on us to try out new things and go to new places before we get ‘old’. But, is it worth it?
Look, it might be a hard pill to swallow but just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean you should. The media has a way of portraying teenagehood to us as the time to have relationships, go to parties, clubs, and whatnot. 6-year-old me never understood why Dad would turn off the TV and tell me everything I see on the telly is false and I shouldn’t take it as gospel.
I come from a devout Christian home and I am a devout Christian, so Dad would tell me to turn off the TV and read my Bible or schoolbooks. Back then, I’d grumble and frown. He didn’t understand, I mean how could he? Teenagers on the TV are so cool, they get to go out with their friends, come home late, get part-time jobs, and have relationships. Their lives were full of drama and mine was boring. I got a dopamine rush from watching the cool things they were doing, it was fun. I didn’t want to read the Bible or my schoolbooks, they were boring and besides, we had church and school for that. What 6-year-old me didn’t understand was Dad was training me for when I do become a teenager and I’d see my mates doing fun and exciting things, but I wouldn’t join the bandwagon. Not because I couldn’t, but because it wasn’t worth it. In Christianity, that is called dying to the flesh, but that is what is popularly known as having a moral compass.
There were so many times Mom would sit me down and talk to me about why I should or shouldn’t do something, and I’d still turn a deaf ear. It always felt like she couldn’t get it, I mean she was ‘old-school’, but the thing is I was the one who didn’t get it. Where am I going with this? Well, what Mom and Dad taught me was ‘individuality’ in every sense of the word. They taught me to be my own person so that when the time comes, I can make decisions for myself without relying on what others are doing for guidance. And they did that while raising me in God’s Word.
So, what should you take from this little story of mine? It really doesn’t matter what others are doing and what they think of you when you choose not to follow them. Be your own person, don’t follow the media, be quirky, have fun, make mistakes, and learn from them. Be yourself, you are not everybody and no one can be you. The world needs a little more authenticity, to be honest, and you could be the one to start that change <3
Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 HCSB