Thursday Thread: Smells like Gen-X angst?
Nah, we're calling BS on our teenage selves.
Have you seen the “#TeenageFilter” currently trending on TikTok? The face-altering effect shows users a comparison of what they look like now vs. a younger/teenage version of themselves.
It’s not a perfect (or even accurate) portrayal — like most filters giving zero flaws or any defining characteristics — but it’s definitely triggering to Gen-Xers and midlifers because there’s a common coming-of-age experience that bonds us all and I’m calling bullshit on my teenage self.
I want to tell her to chillax… give her a hug and a candy bar… and reassure her that the pain she’s feeling does not (and will not) define her.
One day she’ll look back on all that childhood trauma she’s survived, grow and do things she never thought possible, end toxic patterns that haunt her family history and wear her years like a badge of fucking honor!
I would advise my teenage self to go be less afraid, do more, more, more. (While the knees don't hurt!) Don't be so afraid of your creativity and weird-o-ness. It's a gift. Wait I might tell midlife me that too....
This got me seriously teary. I've only *just* started giving my teenage self a break for not being stronger/smarter/more circumspect - she was doing the best she could with what she had!