I had another revelation the other day when I saw something shocking on my way to the Springs SPCA.
I was driving along Colliery Road in Lodeyko, Springs when I heard cars honking and saw someone driving very slowly, two cars ahead of me.
As I was trying to see why this car was driving so slowly – because we’re a very impatient human race and are always in a rush – the passenger door kept opening and closing.
I found myself thinking: Is there a problem with the latch ‘thingy’ that it’s not keeping the door closed?
Or is someone trying to wave out an unpleasant odour from the vehicle?
Did they drop something and are now trying to see where it fell?
The car then came to a sudden halt close to the sidewalk, and the door opened again.
Out jumped a beautiful teenage girl who looked to be in a fit of rage and walked away from the car.
I was shocked.
The driver tried calling to the girl as I drove past, but she kept walking.
I didn’t see what happened after that as other cars were behind me and I had to drive on, although I desperately wanted to stop and help.
But how does one help a teenager with that amount of anger?
It is uncharted and dangerous territory… I’d rather face off against a growling rottweiler – truly.
Let’s all be honest. Teens are scary.
You never know what mood they’ll be in or what makes them fly off the handle in 0.06 seconds.
I was there not too long ago – though it feels like millennia have since passed – but I don’t even know what made me angry or freak out at my mother.
Anything that didn’t suit me, probably.
Yes, I was a horrible teenager and honestly didn’t know how my mother made it through those teenage years.
I have this to say to the girl who got out of the car and walked away: I hope you’re reading this because I’ve been there too, and so has every other normal teenager, probably.
I also jumped out of a car in public and walked away and I know the incredible disappointment and fear I caused my mother.
You have hurt, embarrassed and disappointed deeply whoever was in that car with you, and probably caused some mistrust issues.
In a misguided attempt to assert your independence, you also acted incredibly irresponsibly in that one selfish moment.
The only thing you have proven, is that you were impulsive, reckless, selfish and childish – to name but a few – all in one angered moment.
The driver was probably so scared in that instance and didn’t know what to do (yes, adults do not know everything or how to react in certain situations).
There were so many cars around here was her daughter – I assume – walking away, not responding to her pleas to return to the car.
She might not have known what to do: Leave the car? Run after you and leave the car vulnerable in the middle of a busy street and creating a scene while doing so?
She did not know whether to drive after you and beg you to get back in the vehicle while risking irritating the other drivers.
One thing though, your parent will never let you just walk away, so driving off and leaving you to get your bearings isn’t even an option.
We all went through teenage bouts of rebellion, depression and most of all, the ‘no one understands me’ phase.
Trust me, we do understand.
Teenage life is damn hard and can be terrifying what with peer pressure, drugs that are so freely available, pressure to work hard at school and so on.
I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but these things only prepare you for ‘adulting’, because like it or not, it’s the same in the adult world.
Pressure never really stops and hard work never ends, as miserable as that sounds, but you’ll learn to accept it and love the benefits it brings.
So, girl who jumped out of the car, please stop hurting those around you and learn to be responsible.
We all know that sudden burst of anger and desire to get away from a situation, but that is definitely not how you handle a situation.
If you want to prove a point, prove it by showing you are mature enough to stay in the car and deal with a situation.
Remember, our parents get angry and fight with us because they truly want what is best for us.
They get angry when you don’t tell them where you were, because they always think the worst first and imagine your body in a ditch somewhere.
Harsh, I know, but true.
They fight with you because they care about your safety.
They punish you because they want you to be a responsible, independent adult who has made a success of his or her life. They want you to be able to stand on your own two feet when they are no longer there.
Your mom, or whoever was in that car with you, will never forget this incident and will always remember the fear.
I hope you see this and I hope you take it to heart because… what would we do without our parents?
