Teenage problems make little sense unless you are a teen yourself. I used to hear my mother lecture my elder brother about teenage hassles with much amusement. Now, I am in the same situation and her words make so much sense.

So many dreams, umpteen wishes, countless emotions...it really is a very turbulent period. How well Marcel Proust, that dreamer of all dreamers, reflects the mindset of an exuberant teen: “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time.” Yeah, sky’s the limit when you are high. It’s the lows that bring you firmly back to earth.

Halfway through my teens, the weirdness of it all never fails to amaze me. You go through such emotional rollercoasters — there is no telling! Even the most minor provocations send your psyche haywire. Indeed, the emotional changes accompanying teenage are far harder to handle than the physical ones.

Teenage might be a period of grooming, but it never feels like it. Popular wisdom has it that this is a period when every boy and girl is on the brink of a profound transition: from childhood into adulthood. The typical image of a teenager is that of an adventurer, almost feral, who tends to act on impulse. Not that h/she does not have the brain, talent or enthusiasm to do the right thing. The problem is that nothing gets done the way you want them. Then, as any teenager might tell you, “Life’s difficult and it absolutely sucks”.

We want it all: name and fame, intelligence, great looks... There are so many wishes and desires buzzing up there that it becomes hard to pick one and go for it. And when, invariably, things get messed up, depression engulfs, sucking out all the positive energy and leaving one in utter misery.

The only relief is that it’s the same with everyone and that each person, without exception, has to go through this period. But that’s no solace. Being optimistic is hard for a teen when h/she chooses to stick with h/her errant ways (rather inanely, you might say in retrospect). Something, somewhere is bound to go wrong. These considerations aside, I would still call myself an optimist. And why not when you can hold on to the belief that anything’s possible!