The Pressures of Being a Teenager in Todays Society

The Pressures of being a teenager in today’s society

Jennifer: head cheerleader, and captain of the football team’s

girlfriend. She has perfect hair, perfect skin, and there is no possible way to

deny her beauty. I try to tell myself that on the inside she is ugly. I know I’m

simply jealous, but I cannot help but detest her. She has everything. As for myself, I

have nothing compared to her.

I don’t understand why I feel sorry for myself. I spend all my time wishing

I was someone else. I’ve always been extremely insecure throughout my life,

and it has lead to depression. It runs in my family. My mother had terrible problems

with it. I remember her doctor constantly changing her medication in the hopes of

finding the cure that would work for her.

“Melissa? Melissa? Are you even paying attention?” My teacher demanded.

“Yes miss.” I replied, although, I was drifting off into space.

Today our lecture was about the many pressures of being a teenager in

society today. All this talk about being in or out made me think of the social changes

now occurring in the educational system.

I then remembered a conversation I had with my guidance counsellor. I was

feeling lonely and rejected, and this teacher told me that other kids, even the popular

ones, also felt as miserable as I was at times. Of course, I didn’t believe him. How

could all those girls, all those girls who had everything be unhappy? I would most

definitely be happy with all those cute clothes and better yet, cute boys. I would never

be miserable if I could change places with one of them.

After school that day, I went home, did my homework, watched

some television, had supper, and went to flip through magazines, the usual. I

wondered how all those girls were so thin. How did they manage to stay on such strict

diets? I envied them.

That night before bed, I looked myself in the mirror, and broke into choked sobs.