Phases of Adolescence

Have you ever felt that hollowness inside,

That feeling that no one understands you?

After hearing of emos and man-periods,

The really not serious descriptions of depression,

We fail to recognize the phases of adolescence:

Sadness, social isolation,

Crying for no apparent reason, feeling life has no meaning,

Low self-esteem, trying to escape with dreams,

Extreme sensitivity…

To rejection.

 

Wrists bleeding…blood stains over the party carpet.

She was cutting before the party started.

As the nights go by, she gets so high

She ran away from home last year; don’t know if she’ll last here.

She had it all: photo shoots to boost her self-image and all,

Then, there’s liquor involved,

A childhood buried by raw pressure is nothing at all,

‘Cause if you’re living life at such high speeds,

You can never breathe.

 

Lily from Junior High left for a boarding school

She was tired of peers calling each other whores and tools,

Plus, she left to get away from her mother

Who called her “fat ugly pig”, as she whispered over her covers

She was tired of mirrors; wasn’t skinny enough.

She didn’t have many friends; wasn’t pretty enough.

She was pretty and tough, in my eyes,

To go through so much pain and not even think of suicide…

Right?

 

It’s not female-exclusive;

I’ve seen dudes using drugs to drive away all the pain,

But it’s inconclusive.

By the time I realized what this world was doing—

Making kids slaves to their pain—I was gonna lose it.

I was a witness to it all; I’ve seen dudes with tattooed tears of joy

“Joy’s a sappy ideal”

Trading your social life for Weed, that’s a crappy deal!

Remember when we were kids, enraptured by just a Happy Meal?

 

My friend Danny’s departure was never planned out

He sucked at sports—trying to fit in—yet he’d stand out,

Always called a "faggot” ‘cause he always had his hand out

Ring finger pulled the trigger, POW! Another man down.

 

And Adam was starting to lose his hope,

Tired of always being the butt of somebody’s jokes.

Thinking in his head, ‘I can’t heal myself’

He told me, “Why am I here? I wanna kill myself.”

 

You see, I’m tired of these stories.

I’m a kid; I’ve got my issues too.

I was a friend to them all—a Therapist too!

But who’s gonna help me when I’m feeling it too?

Everybody’s jacked up; my family is, too.

Yeah, I’m just like these teens. Don’t we all fit the description?

I don’t want to tell you ‘bout Lizzie and her many prescriptions

First it was Ritalin, now it’s become an addiction,

Found her one night foaming at the mouth, and I felt like the victim.

If we survive, we’ll remember parties, eight-ball pool,

Of course bullying, fake friends from High school,

And the journey of self-discovery; slow and rough,

Hammered by shitty liquor and misery when Summer’s up.

 

Sometimes we don’t know what’s Up…since we’re always Down.

You were some kid’s idol, when girls called you a clown

You were a leader for kids who wouldn’t make a sound

But still, you make your smile represent a frown

You lost 10 pounds, Lily, yet call yourself a cow

They’ll stop the jokes, Adam; your Hell is only for now...

I wish I’d told Danny, he was the coolest kid around

We’re cutting, we’re punching holes, that’s why I blame the Crowd!

 

We live our adolescence wanting to be grown ups,

And we can barely live as kids ‘cause it’s so tough

Rushing as if we see the last train leaving.

We need time to grow; puberty happens for a reason.

To all those kids thinking, “Why don’t I belong? Why?”

Self-image issues have existed since the start of time

After seeing all the fights, I just want to resolve ‘em,

And if you don’t understand...

you’re part of the problem.

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