Teenage Lobotomy

There’s a small boy in our office on work experience - all grunts and ticks and problems making eye contact. It’s kind of annoying and makes me want to kick him, but also makes me remember, wasn’t being adolescent just GRUESOME?

You’re so painfully aware of your physical presence and suddenly your body feels awkward and cumbersome. What happened to the childhood days when you were so uninhibited and could express yourself freely?

There’s something about your teenage years that completely removes that instinct and you have to start to learn again what came so naturally when you were six.

I can remember literally wanting to die if people spoke to me when I was younger. Tears of embarrassment would burn the backs of my eyes when all somebody had asked was, “Do you want a biscuit?” I lived in perpetual fear of being asked for an opinion. It’s not that I didn’t have them, I just didn’t have the faintest idea how to express them and all I could hear was the sound of the blood pumping through my ears.

These people who say, “What wouldn’t you give to be young again” must be mental. I wouldn’t go back to that for anything. I live in constant joy of getting older, aside from the grey hair it’s all a blessing. By the time you hit your 60s not only do you have your self confidence back, you can once again ride free on the buses!