The Voice of a New Generation

Adults put a lot on teenagers and don’t realize all of the pressure they are putting on us. As soon as I started high school, parents and other family members have been asking me nonstop what am doing after I graduate, and I always responded with “I don’t know” because I really didn’t.

Well, here I am, two years later, in the middle of a pandemic still struggling on what I want to do. It puts a lot of stress on me and I’m sure on other teens too. On top of that some parents and adults just don’t listen, when we say we are struggling, and we need help. 2020 was a terrifying year as a Black kid seeing people who look like me being killed for the color of their skin and most of the time not get any justice. That just adds on to the stress and a bit of sadness, especially when adults don’t take us seriously and say we don’t know what we’re talking about when we do...we pay attention. Also, I believe we are the generation that can truly make a change, but the stress of school, parents not taking our mental health seriously, and more are already on the weight of our shoulders...and we didn’t even graduate yet.