Quotation Analysis Essay

Philippa Schuyler 383 Chelsie Napier
English 7H; 8; 9 Monday October 1, 2012 Quotation Analysis Essay

"Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years." The words in this quote, by an unknown author, invite the reader to take a deeper, more insightful glance into how teenagers set out on a youthful rebellion to grow up too fast and get away from their problems. The words also invite the reader to take a deeper more insightful glance into how parents begin to age as they raise teenagers. Through literature, the author uses the point of view of the adolescent and their guardian to express how they feel as the adolescent ascents into their teenage years and starts developing their own opinions. An unknown author portrays meaning through the quote which relates to the actions of adolescents as they move through the teenage stage of their life. As teenagers grow up, they face changes in their personal, social, and educational lives. First, they start to act like they are as old as time itself which is normal but can be taken too far. By doing things on their own without anyone's help, they also start to become very independent which is only good most of the time until it starts to get out of hand. Teenagers may also start to think they are too old for certain activities or items. They begin to act as if they are too good for some items or activities which can appear as snobbish to those who are around them. Appearing as snobbish can be a turn off, which causes friendships to be lost and relationships to be broken. This will lead to isolation from others to avoid being heart-broken or hurt. Adolescents usually can isolate themselves for a few weeks or about a month, but sometimes the non-contact with friends or family members can get to their heads making them angry or emotionally disturbed. Yelling, screaming, disobeying, slamming doors all can be the outcome of isolation even to those who you love and cherish. Parents understand that their children can have their bad days but if it continues to be on a daily basis they fear that their child's emotional state will lead them on the wrong path. The theme of the quote is that you should enjoy your life as a teenager with your parent's guidance. Life is full of ups and downs and we have to make the most of them while we're still young and energetic. Enjoying your childhood will have a big impact on how you are as a person as you get older. Making a lot of friends, trying new things, and just having fun can increase your mood but also how you feel as a person. Teenagers mustn't forget that while having fun it's also important to spend time with your family. As you get older, you will always be treated like a baby till your gray-haired. It might seem annoying at first but it just is a reminder that in your parent's eyes, you will always be a child. Your parents won't always be around to comfort you and take care of you, so don't take their love for granted and treat them badly. Parents are at an age where they may not be up to date with the modern American customs since they might come from another place. The kids are so used American customs since most were born here and the parent just use methods to teach their children how they were taught when they were young. Parents think they are giving us another way to living but they don't realize that some of their own customs are pretty ridiculous and embarrass their children. At this time children just don't understand that these customs are part of you and you hurt your parents by being so embarrassed. Your guardian already has problems of their own and they don't need their children to make them feel even more horrible. Parents will be begin to feel stressed, will feel older than they actually are, and might even start to gain gray hairs. You should treat your parents with the dignity and respect they deserve while also abiding by their customs and rules. An unknown author uses words that personally relate to the Broadway musical "13". At a certain point in their life, a teenager is ready to make their own decisions , which is similar to the decisions made by a young man in the Broadway musical "13". The main character in the play, Evan Goldman, feels like he has to impress all the people around him and ignore how he really feels. When moving through the teenage stage of your life, you will feel like you have to impress other people to fit in or make certain impressions on certain people. To impress these people teenagers could even resort to doing criminal acts when they know it can't be right. Peer pressure from other teens is one of the main reasons others are led astray. Goldman also feels like a teenager doesn't have any privileges to do the fun things in life until they grow much older. Adolescents always want to experience things such as getting their driver's license or bungee jumping but they have to realize that to experience the exciting things in life, you have to be very patient. Don't try to rush through the important stages by acting as if you are a grown man/woman when you have great privileges awaiting you. The parents in the Broadway musical "13" are so busy worrying about their children and how they act, by the end of the musical the parents are all old and incapable of taking care of their children. While their children are getting into problems between friends, the parents can only stand aside and watch since they have other problems to deal with and their child won't even tell them what's going on. Unfortunately in the end the parents end up not being able to help their child leaving them to deal with it themselves whether in a good or bad way. However, without the parent's guidance the children still settled their problems in a good non-violent way so the parents don't have to worry anymore. An unknown author presents the point of view of the child through the explanation of what the child thinks about their parents and how they think certain situations should be dealt with. Life is about responsibilities and teens want to show their parents how responsible they are. Most adolescents feel like their parents treat them like they are still 5 years old and don't realize that their baby has grown up into a teenager. They just want to have the privileges of a mature teenager but also be treated like one. Parents also insist on telling their adolescent what to do but it can also be unnecessary because the child already knows how and what to do. Children just want to learn from experience or try what they think is right without our parent's comments. Teenagers sometimes just want to have a simple conversation but other times being left alone can also be great. They have their moments where they just want to sit down and think about certain things without having to explain their private thoughts to someone you won't think will understand. Parents can be the most difficult to explain to if something has happened and you just need advice. Most of the time, they cannot relate to the experience or sometimes just don't understand. This will make teens skeptical about telling their parents anything. From the parent's point of view, the children need to just wake up and smell the cappuccino. Life is full of problems and obstacles but the only way you can overcome them is with the guidance of your parents. If you try to deal with your problems alone, you'll only end up hurting yourself in the end. A parent's goal in life is for their child to be successful and happy so if they're not happy, the parent isn't happy. Parent's also wish their children would understand why they make certain decisions. It's not that they want to ruin our lives, they just want to protect us. Besides, things happen a certain way for a certain reason. Our parents just want to take care of us and make sure we have a good future. An unknown author use words to personally relate to experiences in my life. Everything has to go exactly right and it has to go my way. I won't lie, I dislike it when my father doesn't listen to my opinion even though it matters. If we are debating on whether or not I can go on an overnight trip with my school, it would be nice if you would listen to my reasons of why I want to go and how I could benefit from it. I'm not saying you have to agree with my opinion but listening to it can influence your decision. He thinks that something will happen on the trip and is very overprotective. I listen to what you have to say and it will probably influence on how I think about the matter. Even when I ask my parents to help me with my decisions, they always tell me "whichever one suits you best". I can never make my own decisions on certain matters and sometimes that can either be a good or bad thing. It's good because once someone tells me what they think I can develop my own opinion off of that but it's bad since sometimes certain people can cause me to make a bad decision that could affect how I feel about certain topics. By the end of the day, I can't stop thinking about what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future. Usually people come to me about their problems, but sometimes I already have my own problems to deal with so I don't need to be involved in any more. The fact of the matter is that everyone has a way they want things to be done but it won't always go your way. Throughout the past years, teenagers have no respect for themselves and others. Respect can open and close many doors, however, this is one trait lacking in the teenagers of today. I see teenagers on the street cursing, fighting, and carrying themselves like their parents/guardians haven't taught them anything since day one. I know your parents spent a lot of time teaching you what's right and what's wrong so why let it all go to waste. Teens think they are grown and know what's right so they rebel against their parents but what they don't know is that your parent's have completed school and have a job to support you. Until you have a job and a degree to prove your successful, you can't call yourself grown. What I have also noticed is that adolescents begin to skip school and ignored their education. Doing this could affect what high school or college they make it into. If teens are as grown as they act, they would accept their priorities and act like a mature young adult. Adolescence can be a difficult period, however the way it is handled will define who we are and who we will become as men and women of the future. The words in this quote by an unknown author, invite the reader to take a deeper, more insightful glance into how teenagers set out on a youthful rebellion to grow up too fast and get away from their problems. Teenagers just need to stop, take in all the love/ friendship surrounding them, and also just enjoy and make the most of their life.