Oh the wonders of oestrogen
and testosterone (female and male hormones respectively), committed to making
our bodies look like those of dad and mom.
The bliss of having
our tummy rumble with butterflies. How did the butterfly enter our tummy? Who
even discovered it was butterfly that danced inside of us when we saw that cool
dude or babe we were attracted to?
The treasured
season of sneakers and leggings, ear phones and smart phones, make-up and perfumes,
cliques and bands!
Oh wait a minute,
did I forget to mention role models and star imitation?
LOL
Being a teenager is
one of the priceless moments in life. It’s just so unfortunate that most people
don’t navigate this season successfully. It’s really not our fault that teen
years feel somewhat bumpy. Everyone is busy talking to adults and children that
they can’t tell the difference between us and children. Can’t they see the busts on our once flat
chests; can’t they notice our once soprano voices have deepened into sexy
baritones? If only they would look
closely.
Okay, Okay, take a
deep breath sugar.
We (association of
adults) acknowledge that teenagers are special and we notice you’re grown. We hereby
apologize for treating you as children rather than “almost adults”.
Chuckles…….
Laughs……
Teen years refer to
the period between ages thirteen and nineteen (13-19). It’s associated with
puberty (when
a child's body begins to develop and change as they become an adult. Girls
develop breasts and start their periods, and boys develop a deeper voice and
start to look like men)1. However, puberty can begin much earlier for most
people. Some experience puberty as early as age 8 or 9 before they ever come
close to being teenagers. I experienced puberty at 11 years of age.
Puberty doesn’t
make you a teenager. You have to be between ages 13 and 19 to be a teenager.
However, if you’re already experiencing puberty then you’re really not a child
anymore. So we can call you a teenager only because your body is fast becoming
like that of a grown up, which is a good thing though!
So now that we know
the difference, let’s just delve into what you would need to go through
teen-hood successfully.
Here is the checklist
1.
Healthy
self esteem
Self esteem refers to your overall judgement on how much you are worth
in terms of skills, talent, social status or life generally. Teen years are characterized
by unique experiences. Most of which won’t feel too pleasant. Therefore it is
important that you have a healthy self esteem. A healthy self esteem says, I’m
good enough and I CAN even if I don’t get things right the first time.
Read: Rules of SelfEsteem
2.
Awareness
of Purpose: Purpose is God’s primary reason for
creating someone as beautiful as YOU. There’s a reason the sperm that fertilized
the egg that day in momma’s womb turned out to be YOU. You are not some random
creation born out of God’s boredom. God was so interested in making you and He
engaged the best of His abilities when He made you. Living without knowing your
purpose in life is one the big reasons most teenagers ruin this priceless
season of life. I was privileged to know my purpose at age 9 and it helped
shaped my life, choice of friends and pretty much everything while I was a
teenager. If you don’t know what God’s purpose for you is yet, then you should
find out. I wrote this book some years back to help with that-
PROTHESIS (An exposition on your destiny). Buy paper back Here or E-book Here
Read: Books by Anne Atulaegwu
3.
Knowledge
of Personality type:
Personality refers to individual
differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.2
Everyone is unique. We
don’t all react or act alike to the same situation. Understanding your
personality type will help you embrace and accept your uniqueness. You will
also not feel inferior to people of different personality.
Basically, there
are two broad categories of personalities- the extroverts and the introverts. The
extroverts are those people who socialize easily, are outspoken and are bold in
public while the introverts are those who don’t mingle with others easily,
bottle up their feelings or thoughts often and are pretty shy in public.
At age 14, I read
this book by Tim Lahaye, “why you act the way you do”. I found it in my father’s
library and it changed how I saw myself. I learnt that it was normal for me to
cry profusely when I hear sad stories or switch swiftly between tears and
laughter in the middle of a movie. I accepted my “talking” tendency because I learnt
that I was a blend of very unique personalities. Buy the book here or search a
local store around you.
Take a quick test to determine your personality type CLICK
Read: What's Wrong With Being Gay?
14. Presence
of a Vision
A
Vision is a mental picture of your preferred future (Anonymous.)
Do you have a
preferred picture of the future? Or would you be okay becoming anything and
anyone in the end.
I’m
not talking about wanting to be a doctor or a pilot. Those are career goals and
are part of the vision. I’m referring to a mental picture in which every aspect
of your life is represented. A good life vision includes, career, relationship
with God, financial status, ministry, marriage and everything else pertaining to
life.
Now
don’t cringe at the mention of the word, “marriage”. Teen years are not so
long. They are simply 7 years (13-19) out of your entire life time. So if you’re
intend to get married someday ,it’s not too early to start building excellent
character and skills required to make a marriage work. You and I know that time
flies like lightening. So you may as well start preparing to be an amazing
spouse, parent, employer and anything else you want to do or become in your
adult years.
Just
so you know, it’s not a coincidence that teen years are only seven (7). In
Jewish numerology, 7 is the number of perfection. If you asked me, I believe we
have 7 years in teen hood to perfect our adult life. Let’s not mess with it!
5. Study
Habit
I
have met quite some number of adults who have no knowledge outside football
clubs, best make-up and their jobs. Come on now, how can I entrust my life to you in business
partnership let alone as a spouse when you have no idea what is going on in
life!
Most
of these adults are totally clueless on most important things in life because
they don’t read. Don’t let that be you,
honey!
READ,
READ, READ.
Some
subjects don’t have to interest you before you read about them. We read to be
in the know not only for pleasure. If all you read are Nora Roberts, Mills and
Boom(I strongly do not recommend this one and you know why), Super strikas, Francine
Rivers, Ayo, chike and the river, Vogue and
all the others; well you’re not fully preparing for a successful adulthood.
Read
stuffs on travel and tourism, stock market, intercession, marriage, food,
politics etc.
You
don’t have to know everything; just know a little about everything.
Build
your knowledge base, you never can tell where life will lead you.
And
hey, you probably didn’t want me to say this one, READ YOUR BIBLE for it holds
genuine WISDOM!!
Find
out God’s opinion on everything by searching the bible for yourself.
6. Right/Healthy
Relationships
People
often say, “Show me your friend and I’ll show you whom you are” but I like to
say, show me your relationships and I’ll show you your destination.
We
are definitely attract our kinds in relationships but we also end up being like
the worse or best in them.
Who
are your friends, role models or mentors? Do they look and act sane? Did you
choose them only because they are “hot” and popular? Or did you look intently
to ensure they can help you get to the mental picture of your preferred future.
We
must cherish your purpose, vision and relationship with God. Every relationship
in your life must be checked against those three. Ask questions like, how are
these people helping me fulfill purpose, attain my vision and deepen my
relationship with God? If you cant figure out how, then they aren’t making any
direct positive contribution. Place a check button on them.
Huh?
What do you mean princess-Anne?
Oh
honey, I mean exactly what you just saw- ETERNAL LIFE.
What exactly is eternal life?
“Now
this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 (NIV)
Why do I need eternal life?
Whoever believes
in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
John 3:18 (NIV)
In plain English,
you need eternal life to be accepted as God, to no longer be condemned, to
become truly alive!
But I’m a good person. Don’t I already have
eternal life?
Salvation is found
in no one else, for there is no other name (except JESUS CHRIST) under heaven
given to mankind by which we must be saved."
How do I receive Eternal life?
If you confess
with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved (Have eternal life).Romans 10:9 (NLT) Emphasis added
So if you don’t already
have this ticked on your check list, just follow the principle in Romans 10: 9
by praying this way,
Lord Jesus I acknowledge
you as the son of God
I declare aloud
that you are my Lord and Saviour and I believe in my heart, that you died, was
buried and are resurrected!
Forgive my sins.
Wash me by your precious blood and grant me your Spriit to live for you in
Jesus name, AMEN!
If you just said
that prayer, please send us a mail at birthplacementoringschool @ gmail dot com.
You can find brief
and interesting resources to help you learn more about your new status as saved. Just CLICK HERE
Grabs the microphone...
(In my girly, 5 year old voice)
I hope with this few points of mine, I have confused and not convinced you.
(Holds mouth)
Sorry, I have convinced and not confused you that you can make your teen years successful.
Drops the mic....
Hey! Share this if it helped..
Committed to your Fulfilment
LET'S MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOGETHER THIS CHRISTMAS
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