Life Hacks With Toby: Lessons For Teenagers {Part I}

Children grow up way too fast these days. Before you can say Jack, the once very little baby girl you used to toss over your back will start asking you for dating advice. And the cute boy you used to tickle would stand taller than you, with a very thick voice.

Yeah, that’s part of life.

The teenage period is one of the most impressionable periods of a child’s life. Whatever they learn at this period may be difficult to unlearn. And what they don’t learn now may be difficult to learn later in life.

Ask any adult that smokes today, he will tell you he started as a teen.

Unfortunately, they usually pass through this stage as quickly as they got into it, and become saddled with the responsibilities of adulthood. Worse still, many of them don’t learn the things they were supposed to, so they end up as over grown babies in adult bodies.

How frustrating.

To avoid this scenario, I have outlined 18 life lessons that all teenagers should learn before becoming 18 or should I rather say, ‘Adults’.

For the purpose of length, I will break them down into three parts with six lessons for each week. Well, even if you are not a teen, you will still find it an interesting read.

Ready? Let’s go

Life doesn’t owe you anything
“Life doesn’t owe you anything, it was here first”. – Mark Twain

Many teenagers grow up having a sense of entitlement as if they are in the world’s debts. Sorry to burst your bubble dear, but nobody owes you nothing.

So get rid of your feeling of entitlement and start working towards your own success. Nobody is going to hand over success to you on a platter of gold. No, not even your loving parents.

You are responsible for your life
One of the favorite phrases most teenagers use is, “Don’t tell me how to live MY life”, or “It is MY life, I will live it the way I want to”.

If you have made any of such or a related statement, you are absolutely right.

The flip side to this however is that you equally need to accept full responsibility for everything about YOUR life. If you make any wrong decisions today, it is on you.

Always remember that the next time you want to spend the night with the boy you met at your friend’s birthday party. Remember it too when you want to take a few puffs of igbo.

It is your life, and you alone will live with the consequences of your actions. Not me, your granny, nor your big brother.

Life is not fair
Okay I have used that phrase a couple of times in the past too. Ironically, it is very true. So the next time you yell “It is not fair” at your mom, expect an encore.

Let’s face it, life is not fair. It doesn’t even bother to give us what we deserve. And sometimes, it lets the bad people get away with the wrong things they do. Well the reason is not far-fetched: Life isn’t fair.

If life throws mud at you, you can choose to sit down and whine about it/ Or you can actually build a mud house. Either way, it is your life. Remember Lesson Two.

Your boss won’t be as nice as your ‘wicked’ teachers
You think your teachers are not understanding? They give you assignments to do, not minding that you don’t really know how to do it, right? Or maybe you feel they are always spoiling your fun for you.

Guess what darling? Your boss would be worse!

You may have a boss who will not even remember your last name or care about your relationship problems.

Your boss will give you deadlines and not care how you meet them. That is why you are on his payroll and not the other way round.

So enjoy the freedom you have now for as long as it lasts, because once you start working, nobody will care how bad the traffic is. Just make sure you don’t sign in late.

Be nice to people, you may work for them tomorrow
Maybe you are the most popular boy in your school now and you get the respect and attention that comes with it. Or maybe you are the prettiest girl in your class, and your dad drives a G-wagon.

I understand that you feel on top of the world, and sometimes you may act arrogant or bitchy even when you don’t intend to do so.

Well guess what? You’d better watch your attitude.Learn to be nice to people today no matter how small they seem, because…Emm Karma is a bitch, it has a way of reversing roles for people.

So watch out for the nerds in your school, and all the other people you have tagged ‘losers’ and be nice to them. You want to know why? They may actually be the ones responsible for your pay check tomorrow.

Sex Education 101
For boys: Porn is not the best way to learn about sex.

Maybe you stumbled across your uncle’s hardcore magazine when you were 11. Or let’s assume you discovered a box containing some pornographic movies in the basement of your house and you were amazed at the wonderful thing sex is.

Hold on a minute bro. Those acts you see on the screen are just what they are: Acts.  They represent what certain men wish sex was like. It’s rare to see women who are like that in real life.

So please suck it up. Throw away that stash under your pillow, delete the ones in your laptop and face the real world.

Your Turn: What do you think about the post? Are there life lessons you think I forgot to add? Please add yours in the comment section below, and don’t remember to check for the sequel same time next week.

And if you liked this, kindly share it on Facebook, Twitter, or on Google plus.

Photo Credit: Konstantin Sutyagin | Dreamstime.com