YOUNG & BRITISH TODAY
Dazed Digital asked teenagers what it means to be young and British in 50 words. Some of you were succinct, some of you had plenty to say and some even came up with poems (to be published on Dazed Digital later). Here is what you had to say about being young and British. Thanks to everyone for getting in touch and sharing a bit about yourself.
Daisy Davidson 16
Britain is most probably the best place in the world to live...
...if you are over the age of 20.When you're 16, Britain (or specifically Clinton Cards, suppliers of slightly unrealistic opinions of 'Sweet 16') seem to suggest to the British teenage population that your life magically becomes this fantastic lifestyle of sex, drugs, booze and constant parties (TV show Skins has its own part to play in providing this ridiculous vision). Sadly you're more likely to spend half of your Sweet 16 taking really 'fit' badly angled photos of yourself wearing some really 'totally xcore' outfits and the posting thousands of bulletins moaning about your life and saying 'PC4PC Babes Luv Ya'.
If magazines, music and influential people opened their eyes and realize that there are people who are under the age of 20 who actually want to go out, meet other interesting people and have some actual fun then I think teenage life would be a whole lot better.
Let's be honest now…after school clubs just aren't cool.
Thomas Doherty 16
So frustratingly ignored are the youth's views and needs today. Potential should not be shunned or restrained because of a younger age and I feel that society forgets that 'education, education, education' will accomplish only so much, and that ambitions and ideas must be voiced, heard and nurtured!
Hannah Zafiropoulos 16
In my college, you're allowed to take Biology, Chemistry and Physics but you're not allowed to take 3 visual arts subjects. They say it's too focused and you're "putting all your eggs in one basket". I feel very strongly about this and feel that people should be able to follow their passions and enjoy what they do rather than sit in exams hating them.
Naddy Sane 17
It seems like a lot of British young people want to be something they are not, why don't they just be themselves. They think that everyone who doesn't look, talk or act like them is 'weird'. A lot of people live in a box, the doors in their minds are closed and this makes a lot of people very judgemental. To be young and British you have to be brave to be yourself, block out the judgements and only listen to your own.
Beth Whitby 18
I think the life of a teenager in Britain cannot be summed up in a sentence, because with a teenager there's never just one thing going on, and I should know!
George Coles Riley 16
You have to make an impression. You lose weight, stop revising. You buy drugs with your pocket money, you feel wanted, you politely excuse yourself from Sunday lunch to be sick. You feel lonely. You hate them and they love you, you love them and they hate you.
Natalya Lobanova 16
Firstly I will like to say thank you, I love you, and I would marry everyone at Dazed & Confused but unfortunately I do not support polygamy. I've met 12 year olds who like to discuss Comme de Garcons - we're striving for originality at an earlier age more and more. On the radio, they said we're the most evolved the human race will ever get (ASBOs aside). So I suppose that means that we won't get to a stage when 8 year olds will be editing Vogue. Teen Vogue, on the other hand…
Lydia Mok 17
The Queen, Bobbies on patrol, and drinking plentiful cups of tea; this is what the British Isles has been eternally recognised for; and the teenagers? The punk revolution spread worldwide with the genesis of the 'anti-fashion' movement in the 1980s catalyzed by a 'who-cares' teenage attitude. Times change, teenagers don't.
I have been to 8 different schools and lived in 7 different places, although I was born in North London. I have recently discovered that I quite enjoy the popular biscuit 'Bourbon', and having intellectual conversations about the Solar System and all things Moomin related with my postman Ernie. I have also come to the conclusion that Kool- Aid isn't that "cool", that I hate the term 'yah' and that I am a deprived teenager because I didn't go to an American Highschool. Errrmmmmm....
Hannah Jones 17
Much is said about how to cope with the practicalities of
society, much attention is given to things such as teenage pregnancy,
anti social behaviour, education etc, but the struggle to achieve a
sense of self awareness and how hard is just to reach a stage where you
are comfortable with your own ideas and being in your own skin is
barely ever mentioned.
Maisie Rose 17
Not conforming, never sleeping, kissing, lusting, dressing up, dressing down, writing stories, making plans, losing things, finding things, street culture, street style, street art, street wise.Once bitten forever smitten. Being young, being foolish and being happy.
Esther Ayoola 16
Our generation is governed by time and money. Not much anyone can do about it really.We're not shy, just rather embarrassed about the way you'll feel when we say what we truly think about you. Oops ;D
This is MY anatomy:
[iLIVE][iART][iDREAM][iRAVE][iSWAGGER][iamME]
You can be anything.
Georgia Unsworth 16
From the 3rd – 13th October 2008, I was a Japanese teenager. I went shopping in Harajuku, visited temples in Kamakura, ate at Yoshinoya, crossed at Shibuya, took a class at Hosei University. The first thing I said when I touched down at Heathrow?
“I want to go back to Tokyo!”
Leigh Donaldson 16
Ever heard someone say that these years are the best of your life? And ever thought they are lying? You're not the only one. With the pressure of the exams, the teen social ladder, trying to get a job or get into university, and those annoying body worries. Everything needs to just slow down.
