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Sofia Plesh

The True Talents of Teenagers

Teens have the power to achieve anything they put their minds to. Photo by Sofia Plesh.

Excluding the purchase of alcohol or cigarettes and rental cars or hotel rooms, an adolescent can pretty much do anything a regular human being can. They can go on walks, take pictures, cook edible meals, or even break the world record time for solving three Rubik’s Cubes while juggling them. Que Jianyu, a 13-year-old from China, broke that record in 2018, accomplishing the feat in 5 minutes and 6.61 seconds on live television, according to Insider.

Adolescents can always start a business. That being said, who has the time to balance school and maintaining a business? Well, Ingvar Kamprad did it, and he died a billionaire as a result. That name may not ring any bells, despite being the inspiration for the first two letters of the acronymic name of the popular retail company, IKEA. Kamprad started his business career around the age of 5, selling matches. From there, he eventually initiated the multinational furniture business at age 17.

Additionally, teenagers can also write and publish books. An example of this would be Apex Friendship’s own alumni, Jessica Reid, from the class of 2019. While attending UNC she recently became a published author. Her book, Planet Now, presents ways to encourage conversations about the topic of climate change. Her book can be checked out from the school library.

Photo by Sofia Plesh.

Of course, not all teenagers have a knack for amazing physical feats or entrepreneurship, so pursuing one’s career through entry-level jobs and internships can be considered an acceptable alternative. Furthermore, becoming an intern may be very important, especially when being a member of the Academy of Engineering requires it. For more information on that subject, the Internships page of the AFHS website has worthwhile information.

Contrary to popular belief, teenagers can make their own decisions as they learn the power of independence and responsibility, and relinquish their reliance on their parents. A teenager may not achieve magnificent deeds like the ones done by Jianyu and Kamprad, but the crucial detail that one can glean from this may be that freedom and autonomy comes in many forms. Therefore, if an adolescent wants to inspire others, they can. Conversely, a teenager can stay home and eat pizza all day if they want to, stereotypical as it may be. Even so, the famous teenager Shaggy did wisely say, “Give me liberty or give me pizza pie!”

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