The questions we ask are more important than the answers we get.

Is angst a defining feature of the coming of age process?

About 70percent of teens suffer from more than a single episode of depression beforethe age of 18?

Is angst a defining feature of the coming of age process? Can it or does it inevitably contribute to who you are as an individual? Allow me to point out that about 70% of teens experience more than one single episode of depression before they hit eighteen years old – this is a scary statistic but it makes sense. Well, how many times have you found yourself on the verge of an anxiety attack the day before a test?

where does this angst come from, where is it born? It’s common belief that the coming of age process is ultimately marked by a sudden realization of one self. But, who are we and when do we decide – when do we experience this realization, do we wait for it? Do we decide what it is or is it already laid out for us? What about that chunk in our lives where we’re enduring a constant state of uncertainty, a specific uncertainty that ultimately consumes us? Uncertainty when realizing who you are, who you’re not, and who you want to be? Notice how many questions I’ve asked during this post, and think about the amount of questions you asked yourself during your teen years.

         Beings of the first world are grounded by norms – norms that we ought to not go against, or else! We live in a world where conformity is a law – of course not in terms of legal laws, but an unwritten law. This is societys way of almost forcing us into a state of ambivalence. AMBIVALENCE! Being torn between so many opposing opportunities, so many contradicting ideas. How does one choose?

        

One question that commonly crosses the mind of the average teenager is that of sexuality. Am I straight? Gay? Bisexual? What does that even mean? Damnit, I’m nineteen and I have trouble choosing a movie for this week’s cheapy Tuesday, I could not imagine the anxiety one experiences when their sexuality is being questioned.

I’m sure we can all remember the first time we felt that weightless, vulnerable feeling – maybe it the first time you tried weed? Or maybe it was the first time you turned to a harder drug? But wait, what are drugs? Why do people use them? Why do I use them? What the fuck is a coping mechanism? .These coping mechanisms we turn to (whether drug related or not) ultimately define us as a person. If I am experiencing anxiety or depression, what will I do to cope with it? Example, if I can’t decide on a defining feature of my character, there is a void left empty within me that can be filled with many other alternatives – sex, drugs, anything. If I use drugs as a coping mechanism, don’t you think that, to some degree, would define me as a person? Maybe, I guess so, probably…Talk about uncertainty.

In my opinion, I think angst is a defining feature of the coming of age process. I think growing up is a learning process. I think that in this era of knowledge where so much information is coming at us from so many different directions, confusion is inevitable. The only thing we can do to ease our uncertainty in this process of coming of age is to ask questions. After all, you can be anything you want to be but not everything you want to be.