Age

I was once mistaken as being the son of a friend of mine. We were both the same age, but he was big for his age, and I was the opposite. I'm still not sure how the mistake was made, but someone thought he was my dad. Go figure. This brings me to the topic of age.

The way I see it, either you are young and want to be older, or you are old and you are wishing you weren't. Time is no ones friend.

They say you are only as old as you feel. This is only true to an extent. There is your personal age, and your unalterable age. You are always your unalterable age. This changes in concordance to time. Your personal age is how old you feel. You can wish to be whatever age you want, you can be whatever age you are, but the age you feel you are is what will affect the way you act and think.

Babies eat and sleep and excrete waste and are really loud. They are almost useless, but they are also the future of the earth, the next generation.
Kids generally like to pretend they are adults, although some pretend to be babies. They are unpredictable.
Teens think they are adults, and do dumb things that adults do.
Adults around the general age of 20-30 think they are teens, and do dumb things teenagers do.
Adults around the ages of 30-50 realize they aren't teens, and try to go back to their 20's.
People ages 50-70 slowly give up on the idea of being "young" and may come to terms with age. but then again, maybe not.
Seniors (Generically over 60) slowly lose ability. Some are like babies. They eat and sleep and excrete waste. They aren't as loud though... Seniors also bestow priceless pearls of wisdom upon the young and foolish, providing valuable insight on the way of the world. It's a shame people who finally get a clue tend to have less time than the rest of us.

All this of course is generalized, and not an exact science. I know some people who had a clue from the very beginning. I know some who never grew up.

But what exactly does growing up entail?
Is it moving past your childish ways? Is it joining the ranks of the dull and bitter? Must you give up on your hopes and dreams and replace them with complacency?
Or is it knowing how to make the right decisions? Are you grown up when you know the answer to everything?
Or does growing up mean you finally realize that there are no answers and make peace with it? Does someone who is grown up make the best of their situation and try to move past it as best as they can?

I suppose each individual must choose for themselves what growing up means for them. Everyone may grow up in very different ways at very different times. Perhaps that is the nature of aging.

School

   There is something about public school. Maybe it's because the amount of homework a teacher assigns is unaffected by how much homework you've already gotten from your other classes. Maybe it's the fact that your life becomes governed by a bell. Or maybe it's just the pure and simple awkwardness of being constantly surrounded by hundreds of kids your age.
Whatever the cause, be it one of these options, something not listed, or a combination of both, school has an undeniable quality that makes it perfectly designed to cause stress. Teenage angst has never been so widespread.

   On the other hand, there is homeschooling. You have loose schedule, get to work at home, and your teacher is also your Mom! Not only this, but you also get a complimentary dose of social anxiety!
Homeschooling has it's perks, but there are some undeniable downsides. There is the problem of being taught by your parents, who probably haven't had much teaching experience. Examples:
"That's not how I learned it!"
"Go to your room until you know how to graph linear equations!"
"Uh, I don't know what this is."
Not to mention that homeschooling pretty much guarantees that you will become weird and unsocialized.

   So, yeah. School is pretty much the worst. I am a wee bit cynical when it comes to this topic. There are issues with pretty much every option. Don't get me wrong, I love learning. Just not school. I didn't get into private school, but that's pretty much public school with more judgmental kids.

   Here is my advice: Don't let school get in the way of your education.