There's a saying that the young don't appreciate their youth, and it makes sense. The idea behind that axiom is that when a person is young, their bodies are likely as healthy and strong as they will ever be. However, they don't appreciate that because they don't have any real-life experience.
What you get is a person who is right around their physical peak, but they're often mentally and psychologically inexperienced because they don't truly know who they are yet. Once they get out in the world and start having various experiences, they'll learn more about themselves.
With age, experience will come. By that time, though, the body will have a lot more mileage on it. That's why you often hear older individuals lamenting about how they wish their adult brain could be in their teenage body.
One other thing you'll notice with teens is that, because their brains are not fully formed yet, they very seldom perceive what their actions might cause. That often causes them to act unbelievably recklessly. They believe that they are indestructible, so they take risks and act in ways that their older self never would.
Let's look at some examples right now.
Street Racing
In some parts of the country, street racing is common. Teens and young adults will engage in it, never thinking about the damage they might sustain.
Street racing injuries can be horrific, though. If you engage in this behavior, you might kill yourself or sustain a complete spinal cord injury. You could never walk again, and though you might live for another sixty or seventy years past this incident, your entire life can turn based on this one foolish decision you made as a teenager.
Vandalism
Teens seem to love vandalism as well, and public or private property destruction. That might involve something relatively harmless, like throwing toilet paper rolls in trees or throwing eggs at houses on Halloween. It could be something worse, though, like smashing a school's windows with rocks during a weekend foray.
Peer pressure usually plays a part in this sort of thing. If your peers egg you on, you might feel like there's little risk of your being caught, and with your adrenaline going and your crush looking on, you might throw caution to the wind.
If the police or school officials catch you doing this sort of thing, they might arrest you, or you might face suspension or expulsion from school. You are probably not thinking about those potential consequences when you're out on the town, maybe with your newly acquired driver's license.
Drinking and Driving
Speaking of teens getting their driver's licenses, drinking and driving is another common teen activity. You might get that license and then borrow a parent's car, or perhaps your folks were willing to give you their hand-me-down vehicle so they could buy a newer one. They probably made you promise to behave responsibly while behind the wheel, but again, peer pressure might encourage you to act otherwise.
There are various ways teens obtain alcohol for personal use. You might snatch a bottle from a parent's liquor cabinet, or maybe you've found someone who is over twenty-one to buy you some beers. In any case, when you've got that alcohol in your system, the chances are not very good that you'll walk home from a party when you've got your car right there.
Obviously, drinking and driving is never a good idea at any age, but once again, your teenage brain is not completely developed yet, and you don't think about the possible consequences. All it takes is one driving mistake, though, and you could kill someone or severely injure yourself.
Sexual Behavior
Sexual behavior plays a part in teen activity as well. You will probably take some sex education courses in school, assuming you're in a part of the country where that's on the curriculum. You know about pregnancy, STDs, and using protection.
At that same time, your hormones are running amuck, and in the moment, you might not stop to use a condom. That decision can backfire in a huge way if you get pregnant or you get someone else pregnant. You can also contract an STD through one brief sexual encounter.
Teens feel indestructible, but life has a way of proving that's not the case. The optimal thing you can do is follow your parents' and teachers' advice, even if your rebellious spirit tells you not to do so.
