# Do you feel your teenage years were wasted?



## Ignopius (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm turning 18 years old this coming August. It scares me to finally be considered a legal adult and yet have experienced so little compared to my peers. I don't drive. I don't go out on the weekends and have fun. I skip all school functions including prom. I don't have a job. I don't go on fancy vacations in Europe. I have never had a girlfriend. I barely have any friends. I just feel like my entire teenage years have been on the computer bored. 

I feel that in the future when looking back I'm just going to remember my loser self.


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## Yer Blues (Jul 31, 2013)

Yep. I spent most of my teen years drunk because my father died.


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## minimized (Nov 17, 2007)

When they invent drugs that target the areas that trigger when certain memories are recalled, I'll erase my entire past.


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## persona non grata (Jul 13, 2011)

Worse than wasted. They hurt.


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## ItsEasierToRun (Feb 2, 2013)

Yes and no. I feel like they were wasted, but at the same time, I learned a lot of lessons..


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## Amphoteric (Sep 11, 2011)

They were somewhat wasted as I didn't want to get wasted. Lost my IRL social circle thanks to that.


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## EternalTime (Oct 10, 2013)

Part of them. 
The parts I regret are not driving or pushing myself to get a job. They're both nerve racking for me but now that I will be responsible for myself soon it makes it even scarier that I have no experience with working. >.<
I did not attend social functions and barely made any friends, the one I had seemed to ditch me right after we graduated. I spent most of my teen years on the internet, but it's helped more than hurt. I've met better people online than offline through the years, most importantly the person that loves me, so I don't regret not being social. 
I think overall I won't regret my teen years.


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## Mlochail (Jul 11, 2012)

Yeah. And I'm doing the same with my twenties. This cycle will never end.


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## moloko (May 1, 2013)

No, but my 20s absolutely. It's not even a debate or a matter of opinion, I did waste them. So many things not experienced...


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## ByMyself19 (Feb 5, 2014)

Ignopius said:


> I'm turning 18 years old this coming August. It scares me to finally be considered a legal adult and *yet have experienced so little compared to my peers. I don't drive. I don't go out on the weekends and have fun. I skip all school functions including prom. I don't have a job.* I don't go on fancy vacations in Europe. I have never had a girlfriend. *I barely have any friends. I just feel like my entire teenage years have been on the computer bored. *
> 
> I feel that in the future when looking back I'm just going to remember my loser self.


You are not alone :rub


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## Farideh (Nov 13, 2011)

Not even. I actually did have a life when I was a teenager. I did not struggle with my own "mental issues" until I became an adult.


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## vicente (Nov 10, 2003)

Ignopius said:


> I'm turning 18 years old this coming August. It scares me to finally be considered a legal adult and yet have experienced so little compared to my peers.


This was me when I was a teen



> I don't drive.


This was me



> I don't go out on the weekends and have fun.


This was me, unless you count shooting hoops but that wasn't really fun.



> I skip all school functions including prom.


This was me.



> I don't have a job.


I had a minimum wage job that was topped up $2/hour by a youth services company.



> I don't go on fancy vacations in Europe.


No vacations but I did go on an exchange trip



> I have never had a girlfriend.


This was me



> I barely have any friends.


This was me.



> I just feel like my entire teenage years have been on the computer bored.


This was me.



> I feel that in the future when looking back I'm just going to remember my loser self.


I look back at my teenage years and think that my life sucked. My college years were a little better. Then my life sucked again but now it's so much better that I found my soulmate.


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## SilentLyric (Aug 20, 2012)

It's all I ever think about.


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## Awkto Awktavious (May 11, 2011)

wasted my childhood
wasted my teens
wasted my 20s


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## Farideh (Nov 13, 2011)

Also, I didn't start driving until I turned 20 years old. People learn at different times. I've also never even had a boyfriend. I've been asked to be someone's girlfriend like three or four times but all those guys wanted was the sexual stuff. That is not fair for me at all and this is why I have said no to those guys. We need to be in a relationship with someone who actually likes us. People suck these days. It can be annoying.


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## Bbpuff (Sep 1, 2010)

I don't have my permit, I don't work, I don't hangout with people after school. The majority of my teenage years and pre-teen years were spent on the internet, and to be honest I'm okay with that. I don't think my life would of been any better if I were hanging out with friends and living the stereotypical, reckless teenage life. 

I prefer being by myself, hanging out with friends all the time is just mentally draining. And if I did have a social life, I would of never joined this site, and I would of never met my boyfriend. So in a way, I'm kind of glad things turned out the way they did. Sure it isn't optimal and at times, I feel like I have wasted a small part of my life. But aren't all we doing is wasting time? There isn't a wrong or right way to spend our lives. You're only wasting your time, if you're unsatisfied.


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## probably offline (Oct 8, 2012)

moloko said:


> No, but my 20s absolutely. It's not even a debate or a matter of opinion, I did waste them. So many things not experienced...


^


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## Ladysoul (Jan 24, 2014)

I feel like I may have wasted them in terms of spending time with the wrong people. And focusing on the insignificant things, But yeah


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## CQcumber (May 3, 2014)

My entire life is a waste of time and my existence is a waste of space.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Nope. I always knew my life wasn't going to be worth crap. My teen years could have been better but I did have a few good times. There was nothing I could have done differently to make now significantly better.


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## lyricalillusions (Nov 29, 2008)

Yes. I was so depressed and anxious, I didn't have any typical teenage experiences.


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

Most of it, but that's true for about 98% of teenagers. I think the whole thing with being a teenager is trying to find yourself and your place among the world which is probably a waste of despair.


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

depends on the point of view, but I probably made someone feel better because I sucked so much....so not wasted...


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## amandalynnnxoxo (Jun 27, 2014)

I had a Narcissist mother who wouldn't let me do anything unless it involved her so yes it feels like it was wasted....but I did have a few positive experiences and hilarious moments with friends so that's what I remember and look back on the most.


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## just smile (Nov 2, 2013)

yes =( my mom made me take SAT classes afterschool, weekends, and summer vacations during my whole teen years..never had a chance to really hang wiff friends or experience much socially.


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## Jammer25 (Feb 22, 2014)

In terms of socialization, I do believe that my teenage years (especially high school) were wasted. I didn't gain much life experience at all, and at times it still feels like I'm playing catch up.


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## EndlessBlu (Mar 7, 2012)

I almost posted a rant about how awful my teenage years were... ALMOST...

Nah, instead I'm going to pretend I had the most perfect teenage life this side of suburbia and I had a b*tchin' crew of friends and we all had SUPERPOWERS and we went on adventures and actually DID THINGS and FOUGHT ROBOTS and I fell in love with a girl who actually liked me for WHO I WAS and even though we broke up because she also an intergalactic space pirate and her anatomy was really weird down there, at least I got to experience the feeling of love and I don't regret it a single f***ing second of it!

And then I graduated from high school with a perfect 4.0 GPA and even got an honorary degree from Hogwarts, then I saved the country of Sweden from invading killer personal hygiene products from an alien planet! 

Damn, my teenage years were so awesome


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## fm5827 (Mar 7, 2011)

Jammer25 said:


> In terms of socialization, I do believe that my teenage years (especially high school) were wasted. I didn't gain much life experience at all, and at times it still feels like I'm playing catch up.


Yep, I have the same issue now I still feel like I'm catching up. I'm 22 but I really feel about 18-19 because of everything I missed out on because of SA.


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## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I did have a lot of fun back then. Would go back if i could.


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## chinaski (Mar 1, 2010)

moloko said:


> No, but my 20s absolutely. It's not even a debate or a matter of opinion, I did waste them. So many things not experienced...


this, but change "experienced" with "achieved."


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## bad baby (Jun 10, 2013)

my teenage years were a steady downhill decline until i hit rock bottom at 23. there were slight ups and downs but that was the general trend


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## Cheesecake (Feb 2, 2007)

I hated school and I didn't like being around people my age. I was glad when that part of my life was over, so it is hard to look back on it and feel like I missed out on anything. I look back on it and am glad it's over. 

I feel like my life is being wasted right now though. I know I am going to have a lot of regret in the future. Even more than I feel now.


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## chaosherz (May 15, 2011)

Absolutely I wasted it. I didn't even get drunk or go to a real party until I was nearly 18. And that was one of the very few I went to. I still get jealous of teenagers today because they have such more exciting lives than I do now or ever did as a teen.


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## Earth2georgia (Jul 4, 2014)

I can relate to this so much.  message?


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## CatFiend (Jan 29, 2014)

yes, everything was alright for me until I was about 14, since then it has been pretty bad especially the last two years.


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

I don't really feel my teenage years were wasted. I was never interested in the stereotypical things that teenagers did, and I didn't have much choices to do anything exciting. My years were just trying to survive school and anxiety. Now that I am out of that situation however, and am theoretically more "free" to follow interests and dreams, I definitely feel like I am wasting my 20's. :|


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## monotonous (Feb 1, 2013)

wasted on things i didnt do, not wasted on things i did


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## Lacking Serotonin (Nov 18, 2012)

Yea they sucked.


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## Zack (Apr 20, 2013)




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## ShatteredGlass (Oct 12, 2012)

Eh, not really.

I am a completely different person then when I was 12-13. If I met myself as a 13 year old now, being 16, I would think of them as an immature, obnoxious idiot, even for a 13 year old.

I have had so many different experiences, and experienced so many different emotions and things about myself. I am a million times wiser then when I was 13, and it's only been 3 years. Puberty has completely changed me, for the better. 

When I was younger, I was DESPERATE to fit in. I hung out with the wrong people. I had not yet developed any sexual feelings, and I pretended to have a girlfriend. I had no feelings for this girl or anything, I was just so desperate to fit in with everybody else, who seemed to be in a relationship. I did other stupid things also. I developed a lack of respect for people, and I tried to appear to be a bad boy. I wasn't being true to myself, if that makes any sense. My attempts to fit in never really worked. I 

That paragraph is pretty much my early teenage years (13-14) in a nutshell. I discovered my Social Anxiety when I was 14 and 9 months. I got diagnosed at 15. 15 was the year that things really started to change for me. It was the age where I began to discover my sexual orientation. It was also the age of the onset of puberty for me.

15 was the year of major change for me, both physically and mentally. I hit a growth spurt, and grew a lot. I started developing crushes on guys. 15 was the starting point of my journey to self discovery. I was about halfway between my immature early teen self (13-14) and my wiser, more mature self (16). 15 was also the year where I was officially diagnosed with Social Anxiety. My sense of humour also completely changed from an annoying little kid trying to make everything a joke, to a more developed, friendlier sense of humour that makes things funny, but not at others' expense, like it used to be.

Now, I'm 16. I've been 16 for about 6 months, and wow. I've gone through an emo phase, phases where I've considered suicide, cutting myself, and it's been the year where I've accepted my homosexuality. My personality has changed a lot. I am now a quiet, gentle person. I used to be loud and annoying. I am much more thoughtful and much nicer than I used to be. BUT. My SA has gotten a lot worse than it used to be.

I'm now in the process of coming out with my sexuality (after the school holidays) and hopefully getting some decent friends. I'm also trying to change my image, and stop worrying what others think of me. I'm going to get my right ear pierced (I already have my left done) and I'm going to get my hair cut, and get some clear glasses. I want people to know about my sexuality, and I want people to know that I've changed. I guess that's the main idea here.

I still have a year and a half left of teenage life. By the time I'm 18, I hope to be fully prepared for adult life. I hope to have a job, money saved up, and a wiser mind. Considering how quickly I've changed these last 3 years, I wouldn't be too surprised if I changed a lot again before age 18. Although, I think I've found my ideal sense of myself, or at least, I'm in the process of finding it.

Overall, I don't think I've wasted my teenage years. Mainly because I still have more than a year of them left. I still have plenty of time to prepare for adult life.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Very wasted. Wish I had worked a lot harder on becoming better at things especially art. Very depressing when I go on deviantart and look through improvement memes and see people who were drawing in their early and mid teens better than I am drawing now  I don't think my teenage years compare to how I'm wasting my life now though


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## Fixxer (Jul 12, 2011)

ItsEasierToRun said:


> Yes and no. I feel like they were wasted, but at the same time, I learned a lot of lessons..


I feel the same way buddy!


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

Yep. I could have partied more and by party, I mean just tagging along for the experience. I can't do anything wild now except miss a payment on a bill. I could've joined clubs but none seemed interesting. And spent my summer days outdoors.


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## Sabreena (Feb 17, 2012)

I'm turning 18 in December and no, I don't feel like I wasted my teenage years. 

There's no point, because what could I even have done? I don't have friends or a job and I can't drive or do anything useful, so.


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## burgerchuckie (May 31, 2012)

Yes  Boring is an understatement.


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## cocooned (Jun 29, 2014)

Nope, best years of my life so far.


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## Jade18 (Mar 6, 2011)

those so called ''teenage years'' seems to be a western cultural/social/fad thing of the last few decades
so no. they are no anymore more magical than 20s 30s 40s etc.


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## Slytherclaw (Jul 16, 2011)

Yup...I had zero friends for most of my teenage years and spent a lot of time locked up in my room trying to act/think like an adult. I wish I would have found a group of friends to have fun with. I also didn't take the opportunity to learn how to drive like everyone else did when they were 15/16, so I'm trying to learn now at 20. Embarrassing.


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## Morumot (Sep 21, 2011)

I can sort of blame me not experiencing much on my strict parents, I wonder if I would have done a lot of different things if they weren't. All I wish is that I got a job when I was younger, for me it doesn't matter if I haven't experienced other stuff until my twenties though I am happy I am in a relationship now and it is one of the greatest experiences of my life.


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## Unknown0001 (Aug 2, 2013)

Mlochail said:


> Yeah. And I'm doing the same with my twenties. This cycle will never end.


Yup


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## Sinatra (Mar 13, 2013)

Heh, this is almost scary how much this sounds like me, I'm turning 18 this month too.


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## Steve French (Sep 17, 2012)

Yes. Not that I didn't have my good times and do lots of terrible things I should regret but don't, but damn, I had all those years of little responsibility to go out and party and get laid and enjoy myself, and I spent most of them just getting high and being a loner. ****, I'm 22 now, the good years are slipping away, and they won't be returning.

Now, how about a tune.


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## eukz (Nov 3, 2013)

Yes until I realised that if you're young, have self-steem issues, and none gives as **** about it, there isn't actually a lot to do. You miss the parties, and the years just pass, until just as an adult you fix your own problems and keep on with life.


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## Cuban FL Cracker (Jul 22, 2014)

Definitely, I wish I'd been more talkative, outgoing and more involved in school activities.


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## jellydonut (Jul 31, 2014)

absolutely


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## andy1984 (Aug 18, 2006)

I didn't "have a life" back then. But no, I don't see it as wasted. I was going through things as best as I could. It lead to my present life so I can't complain too much.


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## Roberto (Aug 16, 2004)

I don't think any experience or time spent is wasted.


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## ScorchedEarth (Jul 12, 2014)

I was a total waster but I loved it. I was really sentimental and enjoyed my hobbies thoroughly and took maximum advantage of it. So I don't know what's more a wasted youth, ignoring work or ignoring play during one's most enjoyable years. If I could go back, I'd try to balance the two. Of course, that would require self-restraint that I just didn't have at the time. Hell, I'm still struggling with it.


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## tea111red (Nov 8, 2005)

No.


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## Marko3 (Mar 18, 2014)

hmmm... I missed out on lots of things because of SA... but I don't think they were wasted


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

If I answer ''Yes'', will that bring them back?


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## anomnomnom (May 28, 2013)

By normal peoples standards, I'm sure everyone would say yes, but I'd say not at all

Apart from the bull**** secondary school I went to in the first half of my teenage years I'd actually say my teenage years were exactly what I wanted..I barely left the house, I didnt do mad parties, I didn't sleep around, I didn't frequent pubs/bars/clubs

I stayed in a lot and played video games :b

It was a happier time...when I had free time, I was more easily amused and wasnt on the other side of a few dodgy relationships that have wrecked my trust and made me into a fairly bitter ******* now


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## PandaBearx (May 26, 2013)

Mainly yes, granted my experiences have changed me as a person, but I think my experiences have more of a negative than positive effect on me mentally. Plus I feel I never fully enjoyed my childhood....elementary school was rough, middle school was worse, and high school was a disaster. I wound up attempting suicide at 16 and wasting two years of my life being homeschooled, barely hanging out with friends, and just feeling alienated. So it was pretty wasted....just wish things could've been different sometimes.


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## WalkingDisaster (Nov 27, 2010)

I've got less than a year left of being a teenager. I wasted it so badly. If I reach 20 without having had a girlfriend (among other experiences) I know I will be really depressed and beat myself up over it. At this rate that will happen, but I'm trying to make changes.


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## Lonelyfalcon (Apr 28, 2014)

Yes, I spent too much time infront of the computer playing games with internet friends, at the same time people from school where calling me and wanted to hang out. They literally had to come to my house and play video games with me, to hang out. (Maybe "Hang in"? lol)


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## stevieoo (Feb 8, 2013)

yes and no but i would not mind staying 15 forever other then that best year's of my life no the most fun years of my life was in my teens i mean i do wish i was better but even tho i had so much fun even now if i think about it it would make me happy. but now my life is worse then ever.

best years of my life was 11-14 so much happyness and compassion just thinking about it.


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## AllToAll (Jul 6, 2011)

No. Up until I was 18 I had a pretty solid, good group of friends with whom I rarely had a dull moment. 

I didn't make many friends from then on, but I still find ways to keep my life livable/interesting through other means.


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## FireAndFury (Dec 19, 2014)

Yeah. I feel my whole life has been wasted so far not just my teenage years.

Was brought up in an abusive home, so y'know. I missed out on a lot...had barely any friends growing up. Was always a shy kid who'd sit in the corner and dread group activity at school because I knew I'd have no one to pair up with. I am a socially anxious person and know I am just about useless.

I don't drive either, nor go out on weekends and have fun, never had a boyfriend and never been on holiday, always was a loser to begin with. No supportive family...nothing. I'm just a loser who spends her whole day on the computer doing random crap and I do university work here and there.

Life sucks but it goes on. I'm kind of looking forward to the future because I really wouldn't want to go back to my past and I know I can make things better for myself eventually if I try my best.

Gotta remain positive :yes


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## nominal (Aug 25, 2014)

yes I do v much. I was agorpahobic and didnt even have access to the internet


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## Hikikomori2014 (Sep 8, 2014)

Time to make a change. As little as it may be, try your hardest to live a little


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

Probably a waste, maybe not. IMO I was an idiot then who knows. If you compared past me to current me, we would not be terribly alike.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

I'm wasting my twenties, but it's balanced out slightly by how many more music gigs I'm going to now compared to my teen years.


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## CWe (Mar 7, 2010)

Not really. I enjoyed most of my teen years up until 18 or 19. Wasted alot of years since then though

blah


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## Raspberriexx (Dec 3, 2014)

My teenage years were the worst time of my life.


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## East (Jul 22, 2013)

absolutely and i'm not even done wasting them yet


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## megsy00 (Nov 5, 2013)

No, i wish I could go back to those days..


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## SmartCar (Nov 27, 2011)

*YES!*



Ignopius said:


> I'm turning 18 years old this coming August. It scares me to finally be considered a legal adult and yet have experienced so little compared to my peers. I don't drive. I don't go out on the weekends and have fun. I skip all school functions including prom. I don't have a job. I don't go on fancy vacations in Europe. I have never had a girlfriend. I barely have any friends. I just feel like my entire teenage years have been on the computer bored.
> 
> I feel that in the future when looking back I'm just going to remember my loser self.


Yup they were W-A-S-T-E-D:| Not in the drunk sense of course :lol i went to elementary-high school in a small community, so you saw familiar faces quite a bit, & i was very sensitive as a kid.. i think people saw that & fed on it, it's been & was a process sticking up for myself properly, in high school; i just felt like the damage had already been done, i tried attending a different school, since things were rough socially, but they wouldn't take me, so it was a no go.. i too didn't attend prom, to this day.. i don't still drive, i do know how to drive; i applied for my learners before, but wasn't consistent due to family issues.. i'm in the process of doing it again, & unfortunately i don't currently work still.. i'm still looking for something, I do wish things were different for the better.. but honestly.. as long as SA was in my life i don't think much would have improved, & i wouldn't go back & relive it honestly.. if i had a chance however to do it again knowing what i know, now.. without SA, i think things actually would have a chance of turning out different, & now i don't even think my 20s are going to be a positive memorable experience either. To this day, i still don't have many peers.


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## BackToThePast (Aug 31, 2012)

Parts of it were, parts of it weren't. I'm not going to deny the existence of good things that have happened during my teenage years.


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## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

They were wasted in that I didn't pursue girls a I should have but a blast in terms of partying & playing in bands


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## feels (Jun 18, 2010)

I'm not even sure what that means exactly. I mostly stayed home and played video games and it was great. 

I mean, maybe I could have better prepared for my future in some way??? But I had no ****ing clue what I wanted to do with my life then and still don't. I'm pretty happy now. I was pretty happy then. I could probably be more successful financially by now if I had taken different paths. But I don't feel like any time was wasted. I feel like I grow a little bit all the time.


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## ChickenMcNuggets (Sep 17, 2014)

I could've definitely made better use of the time in some ways, but "wasted"? No, I enjoyed my teens for the most part even if I never partied much or had a girlfriend, or even do that much travelling. I don't consider time to be wasted if I enjoyed myself.


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## MD10 (Feb 20, 2014)

One of the many things that gets me down. Good thing is you're still young. You can have a good time in university/college


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## Nothing123 (Oct 3, 2014)

Pretty much, yeah. I learnt some lessons here and there but most of it was just sitting on msn and facebook or sitting and staring at the ceiling. I still do those type of things now except i actually have a job and friends in between haha


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