Jullia Park

It may be called sweet 16, but thus far, being 16 has been a bittersweet experience for me. Although at the age of 16, teenagers do not have to worry about bills or where they will get their next meal, there are other pressures that occupy our minds on a daily basis. Every minute of the day, at least one 16-year-old in America is being pressured into shoplifting or drinking alcohol, is worrying about his/her standardized test results, or has had a fight with a friend. Such problems may seem trivial to adults, but they have huge impacts on the lives of teenagers.

The age of 16 has so far been an extremely uncertain time for me. The hardest part of being 16 has been the expectations that my family, friends and I have on myself to succeed. After months of sweat and toil, the horrible feeling of receiving a disappointing SAT or ACT score is indescribable. You want to make yourself and everyone else proud, but when you fail to do so, you feel discouraged and useless.

I believe that 16 is the age when youths truly begin to think about their future. Will I be accepted into my dream college? What do I want to major in? For me, 16 was the age when I received a slap on the face from reality. I realized that I had wasted the last few years of my life idling in front of the TV when I should have been preparing for my future. As college draws nearer, I now realize that there is more to life than following the latest trends and wanting to be accepted by peers. Looking at the broader picture, it is obvious that high school is just a small hill that gets us ready for the real world.

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