Introduction

To say that the people of my generation (I’m talking about the people in the 16-22 years age category) are about to make a change that will completely modify the world is a true statement. Of course, our generation consists of people who are so evidently different from their old school parents and other elders and so, naturally, there is enough reason to expect an alteration in the ways of the world in the times to come. It sounds so grand, when one dreams of being freed of the orthodox bonds of the old world to embrace the magnificent ‘New Age’ or the ‘Free World’. It’s the most ardent desire of a lot of people to experience such an enriching and livening concept.

However, the problem arises when one questions the nature of the change itself. That, a change is going to happen is imminent, but whether the change will be good or bad is what puts the elders in a dilemma. They want the change to be good. They want our generation to preserve whatever good they’ve done and also to expand the empire of goodness so that the next generation benefits from it. So, to ensure that we don’t forget what they want us to do, they keep hollering at us to be good at our studies/job/society roles/extra curricular activities et cetera et cetera while we learn to be neat and tidy, to be nicer to our younger/older sibling, to be respectful to every single family member irrespective of whether or not we like them, to do house chores which often involve the pet animal’s morning chores (this is just as descriptive as I will get regarding this particular chore) et cetera et cetera. Whew. It’s just too many et ceteras to handle.

As if the elder generation problem wasn’t big enough to handle, we teens face another problem – handling our social lives. College life is no joke, especially when there are hundreds vying for the same things – popularity, top grades and even dates. And I am one of the countless who’s stuck in the rat race.

And so, I present to you the experiences in my life. It might be a lot like a general teenage life, but there are things which are very different, too – things that have taught me a lot and kicked me into better shape to face the world.

At least I think so.

I hope so.