I love reading my peers’ blogs. It’s so amazing to be able to read the thoughts of girls from so many different walks of life. Lately, I’ve been noticing that several girls, who are completely amazing, have been having difficulties coping with the demand that our culture places upon it’s teenagers.
Let me tell you about my story, in correlation with blogging. It happened during the point in my life while I was battling depression, as well as after that, when I experienced a lack of creative inspiration while trying to find my purpose in life. I felt as if I couldn’t do anything right – as if everyone was so much better than I was. My motivation within music was slowly slipping away, even though I still clung to dreams of being a professional pianist.
People might tell you that blogging will help, or that it won’t help, when you’re experiencing this period of readjustment. I think it depends on your personal needs, and how open you are to your readers. Blogging only created more pressure for me – more pressure to be perfect. Just like society demanded me to be. Many, many posts that I drafted/published at the time I ended up deleting later on.
After winning the emotional battle, I struggled to find a purpose for my life. What did God what from me? Was I good enough for Him? I buried myself in my academics, using schoolwork to fill the empty place that depression had previously occupied. That spring, I quit piano, banishing any thought of becoming a professional pianist from my mind.
The calling that eventually filled that hole was writing, and later on, photography. I’m not going to say that I was faithful during that time – I most certainly was not. But I do believe God filled that hole in my heart and mind.
Friends (all of you, but especially to younger teens), don’t believe that this transition is the end of the world. It is not. Don’t think that what you want for yourself will not change. It probably will. Don’t let the awkwardness and pain overwhelm you, and drag you down. If you’re not careful, it will. Believe me.
I know it’s hard to deal with the expectation of perfection. Our society places so much emphasis upon being perfect that those who express their pain to others, especially in written form, are often ignored. “Perfection” is only a mask. Don’t wear it, if it’s not you. You’re allowed to be human. Everyone has been through this time of adolescence, whether they care to remember it or not. Don’t let perfection drag you down.
If you got this far, thank you for reading this. So much. This wasn’t a planned post, but it’s been weighing heavily on my heart for a few weeks now, and I wanted to express it in some way or another.
(photos are absolutely unrelated to the post. still, posts are rather bland without pictures, yes?)
