Everywhere I go , things just seem wrong, especially when it comes to dressing. ‘The way you are dressed is how you will be addressed’ is how the saying goes. It never gets old but I think here in a lot of Nigeria universities, most girls are deaf or blind to the saying.

In this life, we reach a certain age; stage where everything starts to kick in: the beauty “sisi eko” (that’s if you are lucky), emotions reasoning the desires to be rebellious, relationships i.e. dating. Life of being a teenager.

My name is Pearle, yeah with an extra ‘e’ cool name right? I am your average teenage girl, 18 to be exact who has been through life. The truth be told, I’m not the average teenage girl who loves to dress up, be in pink. Talk all day, ping like there is no tomorrow. I’m me, I love to stand out, my inspiration being from my principal of my Alma matter; Louisville Girls High School. She always told us one thing ‘the world out there is filled with ordinary people, you must dare to extraordinary’ full emphasis on the ‘extra’. That quote has forever been in my mind. The way I walk must be extra ordinary, the way I eat, dress, talk, everything!! Just want to stand out always, that’s why I’m not a fan of cliques, to me it doesn’t give one the room to be outstanding.

This brings me to why I decided to about teenagers.  When I was younger all I wanted was to be 13; to know how it feels like – the excitement and the rush of independence. Now five years after, I feel like the roller coaster won’t end.

In my opinion I feel teenagers all over the world have lost their way but I’m going to narrow it down to Nigeria. It’s 2012 and I have to say things have truly evolved. I am sure many of us have heard our parents repeatedly say the phrase ‘back in those days’ or ‘when I was your age’ and our suggestive reply would be ‘mom or dad , this is the 21^st century’. Of course things are meant to change but they should change for the better. In relation to teenagers however it’s the opposite.

Everywhere I go , things just seem wrong, especially when it comes to dressing. ‘The way you are dressed is how you will be addressed’ is how the saying goes. It never gets old but I think here in a lot of Nigeria universities, most girls are deaf or blind to the saying. Take this from me; I am no fashion guru. I love to be in style, I check labels of clothes before I try it on but indecency is totally ruled out. No matter the outfit, teenagers don’t seem to get it – must you show it all?Your cleavage, your skirt so high we  could see your thigh, I could go on and on. Let me let you in on a little secret, guys don’t really care about this stuff. They might find you ‘attractive’ but it usually ends at lust and infatuation. You can look gorgeous and beautiful closing everything. There are always clothes you can wear that would most definitely give you more class. So drop those distasteful clothes. No guy has the right to see past your upper chest, once that ‘line’ shows you have crossed the line.

The guys are also left out this negative trend; everyone is trying to fit in these days. From sagging their trousers so low to portraying a fake life to impress the ladies, many teenage guys are missing it. We are just teenagers, let’s not be in a hurry to grow up

Then there is the issue of sex. Chastity is gone to the wind. A guy comes to ‘toast’ a girl, there is the game of ‘hard to get’ and sooner or later they are in a relationship. Days go by, the boy is in interested in the girl, buys her stuff and makes her happy. The boy then suggest that their relationship should be more intimate and sex appears in the picture. Back then couples used to keep themselves till marriage. Now virginity is the thing of the past; ‘old school’. You are in a relationship for a few months and next thing you know they have sex. Where has morality gone?

I could go on about the cons of today’s teenagers but my advice to teenagers is this; there’s got to be more to our lives than clothes and sex.  You don’t have to fit in or have sex to keep your boyfriend just to be cool. Make a good name for yourself, get that 1st class and stand out.

A great man once said ‘do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’

Stay beautiful girls, and keep being cool guys.  We are tomorrow’s future.

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Pearle Nwazeigwe is a 200 level law student in Unilag.

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30 Days 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young Nigerians to share their stories and experiences with other young Nigerians, within our borders and beyond, to inspire and motivate them.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.