In 2006, I was eleven years old, had taken my brother's cd-player, and locked myself away in my bedroom, fuming over the injustice of my parent's latest punishment. I hardly remember the pointless argument that led up to it, but I remember how I felt as my thoughts stewed. "This sucks, this isn't fair, what the hell, etc". I lay on my bunk, blasting my brother's track of "I'm Just a Kid" by Simple Plan. Nothing screamed angst back then like ignoring the world and losing yourself in loud music.
angst is one of the most essential parts of coming of age. as we go through that transition, nothing feels more clear than the feeling that no one ever has, does, or will understand you. Those years of angst growing up often feel the longest, and most negative. while I may be making it sound that angst is a bad thing and nobody wants anything to do with it, that's not my point. Angst is essential to the coming of age process. Angst, and the feelings of misunderstanding that come with it, help young adults understand the hard truths of growing up. Part of coming of age is starting to understand the harsh truths of the real world.
We spend our childhood shielded by our parents, thinking that life will always be sunshine and rainbows. As we grow up, we begin to see reality, and begin to resent our parents and other people in our life for hiding the truth. Angst is simply a part of this process. I ended up leaving that room and making peace with my parents, returned the CD and player to my brother, and all was well. It's not normal to spend all of our lives resenting everything, hating the world. Angst is a phase that can come and go, but in the end is simply something that helps us understand more about ourselves.
Essentially, I think everybody needs to feel angst in their lives at some point or another. It's healthy. You need to have some idea of injustice to help you get some idea of what's a part of life. Angst helps us grow.
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