Falling in Love 

What does it mean to fall in love? To feel bliss? To feel proud? Lately, teenagers dream; they have fallen into a rabbit hole filled with desire. Romanticizing the teenage years can be helpful but also make one feel lost. 

 

Britannica Dictionary defines the action "to romanticize" as "to think about or describe something as being better or more attractive or interesting than it is: to show, describe, or think about something in a romantic way." 

 

Teenagers are pressured constantly by family, peers, authority figures, and the media. Everyone's a critic and quick to judge. The brief comments passed from one person to another, and it feels suffocating to keep to a certain standard. Since people are unique and different from one another, we are always competing for a better "life". Being put in the spotlight is what so many teens long for and may want and long for. Teenagers are prone to romanticizing their life, intending to find a way to be the same and as different as everyone else. 

 

Movies, books, and tv shows tend to dwell in reality outside our own. Many well-known teenage movies hold an imaginary and over-dramatic view of a teenager's life: Clueless, ten things I hate about you, Highschool Musical. Examples of the dramatic lifestyle are:

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The constant parties.

Lack of school work.

Responsibilities. 

Lack of time spent with the family.

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These are the movies kids grow up with and grow too long for the lifestyle and standard these movies hold. Social media platforms, such as TikTok, have multiple trends that millions of teenagers watch daily. An example of these trends is "My teenage dirtbag photos," which are several photos that emphasize doing something bizarre and irresponsibility to the attire of being young, or "my life in photos," which is to show an aesthetic of photos to represent your life. 

 

The reality of romanticizing teenage life is the loss of responsibility, a constant need for validation and attention, and a loss of identity. Newport academy states, "25% to 30% of teens suffer from maladaptive perfectionism-striving to unrealistic perfectionism to the point of causing them pain". 

 

Experiencing new things is essential, and it's partial to how people grow and take on challenges and new adventures—living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment. 

 

DSA students, when being pressured to live an expectation that is over dramatic and out of reach, it is essential to find contentment. Indeed, when one always yearns for more, they are left unsatisfied. Therefore, learn to be content and grateful for the moment. Sometimes, people don't appreciate it when life goes slow. Never attempt to do something irrational to seek approval. If living moment by moment and seeing what life will be rewarding.