# Did You Have Good or Bad Teenage Years?  Or What?



## Ruthanne (May 23, 2019)

My teenage years were very trying.  I did manage to get through them obviously, though.  My parents divorced, we moved a few times and some other more difficult things occurred.  I think a part of me is still teenage as a result and that can also be a good thing.

What about your teenage years?:sentimental:


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 23, 2019)

I had wonderful teenage years. Great friends, loving family. Not a care in the world. Back then none of us thought about the future. Toward the last couple of years of high school I began to think about getting my licence,getting a car, and finally figuring out what I was going to do after school. Thanks to a wonderful guidance teacher who steered me in the right direction everything seemed to fall into place. I have no idea where I would have ended up had it not been for her. I'd probably still be walking the halls of my old high school wondering what the heck do I do now?


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## Ruthanne (May 23, 2019)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I had wonderful teenage years. Great friends, loving family. Not a care in the world. Back then none of us thought about the future. Toward the last couple of years of high school I began to think about getting my licence,getting a car, and finally figuring out what I was going to do after school. Thanks to a wonderful guidance teacher who steered me in the right direction everything seemed to fall into place. I have no idea where I would have ended up had it not been for her. I'd probably still be walking the halls of my old high school wondering what the heck do I do now?


That's really nice you had a stable life where you could grow as a teenager.  I think eventually someone would have got you out of the halls and helped you get started on "adult life."  :love_heart:


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## SeaBreeze (May 23, 2019)

I had good teenage years, grew up in the 60s, loved the music of the time and met a lot of nice people.  Like you Ruth, I still have a lot of teen in me, and I think that's a very good thing! :cool2:


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## Ruthanne (May 23, 2019)

SeaBreeze said:


> I had good teenage years, grew up in the 60s, loved the music of the time and met a lot of nice people.  Like you Ruth, I still have a lot of teen in me, and I think that's a very good thing! :cool2:


So glad your teen years were good to you.  I think I will hold on to that teen~ I love that song btw!


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## oldman (May 24, 2019)

I did really well until ninth grade when I got with the proverbial wrong crowd. My Dad decided that I needed more discipline, so I was sent to military school the next two years. Yeah, that did it for me. 

I decided to finish high school with my senior class where I came from. That was one of my big mistakes in life. Had I stayed at Valley Forge Military Academy. I may have been accepted into West Point or the Naval Academy. Big mistake, indeed. 

I really liked being at VM. I had the choice of staying for my senior year or returning home and I made the wrong choice. Damn!


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## hollydolly (May 24, 2019)

I suffered an unstable and violent childhood !! By the time I got to my teen years  it all came out in rebellion... 

I never took drugs ,  drank alcohol or committed crimes, but I was an angry teen..  no-one could even look at me the wrong way without knowing about it...


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## DaveA (May 24, 2019)

I had enjoyable teen-age years, those being the late 40's early 50's.  Before I left my teens, I was in the service and had  a girlfriend who is still by my side today.   Pretty smooth transition from young kid to adulthood.  I was also blessed with a wonderful family life as a child although I wish I'd had siblings, especially later in life.


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## AZ Jim (May 24, 2019)

My teenage years was full of anguish.


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## Trade (May 24, 2019)

My teen years sucked.


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## C'est Moi (May 24, 2019)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> *I had wonderful teenage years. Great friends, loving family*. Not a care in the world. Back then none of us thought about the future.



Me too, Ruth.   Nothing but good memories for me.


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## rgp (May 24, 2019)

I was too busy working to notice ..........


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## jujube (May 24, 2019)

Good years.  I wish I had appreciated what I had.....


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## Aunt Bea (May 24, 2019)

My teenage years weren't great but they helped to prepare me for the world outside. 

One of the most difficult things for me was not being able to get a drivers license until I was twenty years old and working at my first real job.

Like everything else in my life I eventually figured it out and finally ended up paying a driving academy for a package of lessons that included the state licensing test.


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## Sassycakes (May 24, 2019)

I was very fortunate that I had wonderful parents and wonderful teenage years. I had a group of terrific friends and we spent a lot of time together,going to dances,parties,and visiting some local places. When I turned 15yrs old I met the perfect guy and 5yrs later we married. I should say I thought he was perfect ,now I knew he is only perfect sometimes !LOL


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## Ruthanne (May 25, 2019)

oldman said:


> I did really well until ninth grade when I got with the proverbial wrong crowd. My Dad decided that I needed more discipline, so I was sent to military school the next two years. Yeah, that did it for me.
> 
> I decided to finish high school with my senior class where I came from. That was one of my big mistakes in life. Had I stayed at Valley Forge Military Academy. I may have been accepted into West Point or the Naval Academy. Big mistake, indeed.
> 
> I really liked being at VM. I had the choice of staying for my senior year or returning home and I made the wrong choice. Damn!


So sorry it wasn't as you wanted it.  I've made mistakes, too, some I regretted a lot.



hollydolly said:


> I suffered an unstable and violent childhood !! By the time I got to my teen years  it all came out in rebellion...
> 
> I never took drugs ,  drank alcohol or committed crimes, but I was an angry teen..  no-one could even look at me the wrong way without knowing about it...


Sounds like your childhood was something like mine.  So sorry it was that way for you.  I had a lot of anger, too.  That's good you didn't drink or do drugs.  It could have effected your health badly.  I recall once when a guy was just looking at me and angrily said to him "what are you looking at?!!"



DaveA said:


> I had enjoyable teen-age years, those being the late 40's early 50's.  Before I left my teens, I was in the service and had  a girlfriend who is still by my side today.   Pretty smooth transition from young kid to adulthood.  I was also blessed with a wonderful family life as a child although I wish I'd had siblings, especially later in life.


Glad it's been so good for you.  My mom was an only child, too, and that's the reason she would give for having 6 children.


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## Ruthanne (May 25, 2019)

AZ Jim said:


> My teenage years was full of anguish.


I'm sorry they were that way Jim.  



Trade said:


> My teen years sucked.


I wouldn't want to go through the years I had again, that's for sure.  Mine sucked, too.



C'est Moi said:


> Me too, Ruth.   Nothing but good memories for me.


That's nice C'est Moi.



rgp said:


> I was too busy working to notice ..........


That might have been a good thing?  I don't know.



jujube said:


> Good years.  I wish I had appreciated what I had.....


I'm glad they were good jujube.


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## Ruthanne (May 25, 2019)

Aunt Bea said:


> My teenage years weren't great but they helped to prepare me for the world outside.
> 
> One of the most difficult things for me was not being able to get a drivers license until I was twenty years old and working at my first real job.
> 
> Like everything else in my life I eventually figured it out and finally ended up paying a driving academy for a package of lessons that included the state licensing test.


I'm glad something good came out of your teen years experiences.



Sassycakes said:


> I was very fortunate that I had wonderful parents and wonderful teenage years. I had a group of terrific friends and we spent a lot of time together,going to dances,parties,and visiting some local places. When I turned 15yrs old I met the perfect guy and 5yrs later we married. I should say I thought he was perfect ,now I knew he is only perfect sometimes !LOL


Good to hear your teen years were good.  That is funny!


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## Connie (May 25, 2019)

My teenage years were mostly good. I did right things and wrong things that I didn't realize were wrong. Or if I did know it was wrong i decided it was ok. All learning experiences. Good bad ups downs all mixed day by day. Friends did good. Friends didn't. Some died. Some soared. Life happens. I got to live by my grandpa and grandma and that part was wonderful. Even though sometimes at chore time I wasn't so sure... Lol. I miss them a ton!


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## Falcon (May 25, 2019)

Pretty  good.  Happy  times.   Staid  outa  jail.


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## Kris148 (May 25, 2019)

Ruthanne said:


> My teenage years were very trying.  I did manage to get through them obviously, though.  My parents divorced, we moved a few times and some other more difficult things occurred.  I think a part of me is still teenage as a result and that can also be a good thing.
> 
> What about your teenage years?:sentimental:


@Ruthanne  my teenage years were a mixture. Up until 16 I was locked away in a Mason- run boarding school.. with few privileges and much discipline. I had been there since a few months before my 7th birthday. So when my mother finally released me I lived it up to make up for the lost years of my childhood.


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## Ruthanne (May 25, 2019)

Kris148 said:


> @Ruthanne  my teenage years were a mixture. Up until 16 I was locked away in a Mason- run boarding school.. with few privileges and much discipline. I had been there since a few months before my 7th birthday. So when my mother finally released me I lived it up to make up for the lost years of my childhood.


That sounds horrible to be locked up at a boarding school!  My mother wanted to turn me over to the police for running away from home so many times.  I'm glad you managed to live it up and hope you had a real good time!


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## Ruthanne (May 25, 2019)

Connie said:


> My teenage years were mostly good. I did right things and wrong things that I didn't realize were wrong. Or if I did know it was wrong i decided it was ok. All learning experiences. Good bad ups downs all mixed day by day. Friends did good. Friends didn't. Some died. Some soared. Life happens. I got to live by my grandpa and grandma and that part was wonderful. Even though sometimes at chore time I wasn't so sure... Lol. I miss them a ton!


Sounds like you've summed your years up well.  Your grandparents sounded great..cept for the chores part~:love_heart:



Falcon said:


> Pretty  good.  Happy  times.   Staid  outa  jail.


Good for you!


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## Gary O' (May 25, 2019)

Ruthanne said:


> What about your teenage years?:sentimental:



Mostly work

Loved it

My folks were 'going thru' a divorce 
That going thru part was rugged

So I worked

As much as possible

Other than a girl here and there, what I care to remember was the jobs I had

Here's a few I wrote about;

*First Jobs*

My very first ‘job’ was hoeing roses for an ol’ guy at the end of the mountainroad up from our place.

He was a prize winning grower, lots of entries and ribbons and medals andplaques from all over and of course Portland, the City of Roses.

As a teacher, the crotchety ol’ fart was not the gracious diplomat he was whenaccepting an award.

‘Quit pickin’ at it like a goddamn woman, goddammit.’
‘Gimme that hook.’

He’d jerk the ‘hook’ outta my hand and commence to beat the holy shit outtathose roses. 
Apparently the ones that survived became resilient and hardy…..and beautiful.

The hook was not much more than a smallish three prong pitchfork bent 90°.

‘You don’t stop till it’s rainin’ like a cow peein’ on a flat rock.’

That was the work schedule.

And off he’d go in his dilapidated ’49 ford sedan.
The engine sounded like it would blow apart any minute, pistons rattlingaround, tappets tapping a beat, zero oil.
Only drove it a few hundred yards, just to harass us.

One of the old hands said, ‘just hoe like mad until you get over the hill, thenyou can take a little break’.
The old gent seemed to know what he was talkin’ about, he’d been there a longtime. 
Back permanently stuck at 45°.
Kinda bugged me….cause when it was rainin’ like a cow peein’ on a flat rock,we’d all beat feet over to the walnut tree….here he’d trudge…and there he’dstand…..bent.
His hands were stuck in a hoe holding position.

Not big on talkin’.

‘How long you been doin’ this?’

‘Some time now.’

‘Huh.’


It was $.60 an hour…10 hours a day.

I’d been there just a few days, and hoein’ like mad. 
The hill just a half hour of back breaking hacks away.
Once over the hill, outta view from the ol’ guy’s shack, I straightened up andleaned on my hook.
Just stared into the sun. 
Rolled a smoke.
A smoke never tasted so good.
I was just getting’ into a mind filled tryst with Sophia Loren when I heard,‘That’s enough of that, git offa my property.’

I turned around and there he was, leanin’ on them crutches.
How in hell had he snuck up on me?
Had he crutched his way up the hill, knowing full well what I was doin’?
At first I was startled, and maybe a bit scared.
Then I got mad, and with the knowledge that several fields of hay bales werejust waiting for me, I headed right for him.
His expression changed from sneering disgust to alarm.
‘Don’t worry ol’ man. I’m not gonna beatcha. 
You’ve done enough of that yerself. 
Here’s yer hook.’

So, yeah, I got fired from my first real job.



When we moved closer to town, and my Dad's girlfriends, I got an evening job at a rather posh restaurant.
The Hillvilla.
It worked well with my junior year schedule.
Work till 11pm…sleep through class…if I went.

Washing pots and pans.
My first day, I ran a sink full of water, hot and cold.
The owner, Ed Palaske, reminded me of Mr McGoo, kindly, gently turned off thecold water.
Hot water and steam came outta the tap.
‘We don’t use cold water. It’s not so sanitary.’
His forearms looked like lobsters…no hair, red, much like a burn victim.
Lou, the cook, doing a great impression of Ed Asner, just leaned on the counterand grinned.
Damn, I’d never known hot water up till then.
The crab pots and pans, from making crab louie, did loosen up better.

Then I graduated to the salad bar.
Much like a bar tender.
The waitresses would come up, order, and I’d prep, sip a coke and munch oncrackers.
This one waitress,guess she was in her late thirties, would tell me dirty jokes and chit chatwhen ordering.
She had blonde hair, all pulled back, like Kim Novak in Vertigo…..ratherbuxom….like my dad’s Police gazette gals. 
I had fantasies about her while I was sleeping in class.

Sometimes a dignitary would call me over,
‘Hey sport, here’s a buck, get me a pack of Winstons outta the machine….keepthe change.’

If a patron didn’t like their meal, one of us would get it.
Damn, it was good.

After my shift, and the upstairs was closing, I’d head downstairs and getanother coke from the bar, and if lucky, I’d chat more with Kim Novak, andwatch her sit there, undulating.

I think that was my best high school job.

I know it was.

I moved out and back in a few times

,,,and then I was gone

so were my teens

I lived as though I was in my twenties for around 23-24 years

No complaints


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## Ruthanne (May 26, 2019)

Gary O' said:


> Mostly work
> 
> Loved it
> 
> ...


Thanks Gary, a real good read there~


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## Capt Lightning (May 26, 2019)

It was a time when my relationship with my parents went downhill.  Nothing ever seemed to please them so I gave up trying.  I never got into serious trouble, but was happy to 'get up to mischief', a bit of underage drinking etc..
Things picked up for me when at 19,  I met the girl who has been my wife for the last 45 years.  I don't think my parents approved of her either, but I sure proved them wrong.


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## Ruthanne (May 26, 2019)

Thanks Capt!


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## Fyrefox (May 27, 2019)

My teenage years were painful.  I was introverted, socially awkward, not popular or attractive to the opposite sex, and had a very controlling mother.  Going away to a good college was the best closure to my teenage years.


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## Ruthanne (May 27, 2019)

Fyrefox said:


> My teenage years were painful.  I was introverted, socially awkward, not popular or attractive to the opposite sex, and had a very controlling mother.  Going away to a good college was the best closure to my teenage years.


Glad you got to go to college!


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## Manatee (May 30, 2019)

The Korean war started when I was 16, that made me and all my friends very apprehensive about our future.  In those all young men expected to be drafted at some point, unless they were not physically fit.  South Korea at that time was a backwater Asian country, nothing like the economic power house that it is today.
North Korea was the same hell-hole dictatorship that it is now.  The war was over by time I was drafted, so I missed it.


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