The Joys and Challenges of Adolescence

ADOLESCENCE can be a wonderful time of life. Indeed, for many it is. And many adults look back fondly on their teen years.

At the same time, it must be acknowledged that we are living in “critical times hard to deal with.” (2 Timothy 3:1) This has placed added pressure on youths, pressure different from that faced by previous generations. Perhaps this is why Sabrina Solin Weill, executive editor of a magazine for teens, describes the adolescent experience as “walking a tightrope without a net.” Indeed, this tumultuous period of life can be fraught with feelings of awkwardness, anxiety, and confusion. “Caught between childhood and adulthood,” Weill writes, “teens are left holding the worst attributes of each world.”

If you are an adolescent, how can you cope with the challenges you face? If you are the parent of an adolescent, how can you be helped to recall what these turbulent years were like and thus better understand what your son or daughter is going through? In this series we invite both youths and adults to take a closer look at adolescence. Doing so will help youths not only to survive but to thrive.