Adults who hate Teens

I admit that I will probably never understand being of the frame of mind of vehemently disliking teens. Thinking they are dumb. That they should listen to any and all adults. That they have nothing worth listening to. That they don't deserve their own independence.

In my mid-30s I spent four years being managed by teens. At no point was I annoyed or felt like I knew more than them. And I always respected their authority. They were my bosses.

Teens are not dumb. Some are wise beyond their years and more so than some adults I've known. What I've found is if you treat teens with respect, dignity, and like the independent individuals they are, you will get along fine.

And I’ll end on this fun note, my editor of my books is named Grace. I first met her when she was a teen and she managed me for four years. I first asked her to edit Sweet Sixteen Killer as she was nearing the completion of her English degree. She teaches English to high schoolers now and is about to turn over her edits on Jonah of Olympic, the next novel in my book series. She’s grown a lot since I first met her, and she is a fantastic human. What’s the point? The point is we miss out on a lot of good people when we dismiss them for being too young, too LGBTQ, too non-white, too woke*, too not-like-me, or whatever. We miss out on a lot of good folks by dismissing them without bothering to get to know them.

Be good to each other (no matter the age),

Nat ✌️

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* I do not use the word "woke" as it is a term originated by the black community and has actual fucking meaning to them — unlike the stealing and misuse by mostly white conservatives that is devoid of any real meaning. 

This post is made free by community member Nichole Higgins.