As teenagers, we realize that our parents compare us to themselves a lot. 

Most adults have been in our spots before, but what they do not understand is that they were in our spots in a different era. 

The experiences with society our parents had were different growing up. They feel like they know everything about our generation, but they don’t know how we feel or think. 

Back then, there were not very many high expectations on appearances. However, modern society has now created the most insecure people because we compare ourselves to the “better” looking people.

Parents were less insecure than the modern teenagers, not that they weren’t insecure at all.

When they ask “Why are you always self conscious?” we reply with “I don’t know,” because we do not want to worry about their responses and argue the topic, or even sometimes we really don’t know.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s lives, but teenagers feel the worst. Quarantine has caused us to build up anxiety and stress over the little things.

School starting up again doesn’t make our anxiety or stress levels go down. The assignments overflow our brains with work, causing us to stress out about how much is left to go before we can relax.

“School isn’t that hard, just get off your phone,” is the go-to response for parents during this time, but what they do not know is why we are on our phones so much.

School becomes so overwhelming we tend to take breaks and go on our phones to avoid the negative energy created from our school work.

Social media is an escape route for the minds alike. When viewing other people’s successfulness, it creates a spark for us to be better without trying. 

But our parents just view us as being “lazy” and “unproductive,” creating negative thoughts about ourselves on top of existing insecurities.

These negative, self deprecating thoughts make it harder for us to focus and complete work on time, thus grades start to fall. 

More negative comments may come out of parent’s mouths not knowing that they are affecting their mental health as much as they are ours. Being the bigger person in a situation will make you feel better.

It is easier said than done, but being positive to yourself is the healthiest for your mental state.