Living in a World of Hate, Violence, and Nuclear War, as a Teenager: Everything a Parent Needs to Know

When you watch the news tonight or tomorrow morning, listen to the lead stories. My guess is that 99% of them will be about a shooting, a country trying to invade another country, or nuclear weapons and the fight against terrorism. Let's face it; this is the world we live in today. It can't be avoided, and there is nothing we, being teenagers, can do about it.

Teenagers today have to learn to deal with a world that is not always so welcoming and is always moving quickly. The pressures associated with this world are not few, and, most times, can be overwhelming for every teenager. Living in a world of hate, violence, and nuclear war isn't all that easy when you place it on top of all of these daily tasks. So, what can we do?
We learn to cope with the world today and to live our lives anyway. And sure, things are scary. Now, you may read this, as a teenager or otherwise, and think about someone older or just someone who goes to school or work with you. You will wonder if it's really possible that even the tough kid on campus can get scared. The answer, of course, is yes he can.
Looking back on my early childhood, I will never forget the feelings I felt the night President Bush gave the O.K. to bomb Baghdad and start the "War on Terror." Considering I was only eleven, I was scared at the mere thought of the word "war." I was afraid of people bombing my house, my street, or anywhere else in my country. I had no idea what to expect and what was going to come next. But, the world is moving too fast to dwell on these things.
So, sure, even though you may think it hard, we all, as teenagers, find things hard to accept and still get scared at the thought of nuclear weapons and warfare. As students in the United States, however, we slowly learn to accept things for how they are and find other ways of showing our emotions, whether through charity work or, for some, taking up a new lifestyle with, maybe, some new fashion trends.
Learning to love isn't always easy for every teenager today. I know I was blessed by having such a supportive group of family and friends, but imagine the kid who doesn't have this support group. There isn't much they can turn to, considering how fast the world is moving today. So, think of teenagers not as kids who don't pay attention to anything in the world, but think of them as kids who are just trying to survive the best they can in the fast-paced lifestyle of America today.

Learn more about this author, Justin Barry.
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