The Teen Years
For some reason, I’ve been blessed with a good memory. Sometimes, it freaks people out a little bit. When talking to friends, I often have to preface my recollections by letting them know that I simply have a good memory, not an obsession with remembering minute, insignificant details.
I remember I first became a teenager on December 4th, 2006 at 2:32pm while in Sam’s Club. I actually can’t remember exactly why my family and I were in Sam’s club, but I know it had to do with some family errands. It was a pretty big day in my mind. I was finally a teenager. After going to North Point Mall to pick out a few things, we went to dinner in downtown Lawrenceville with some good friends of ours. The teenage years had begun.
Seven years later, I’m a sophomore at the University of Georgia and 2013 is coming to a close. It’s remarkable how much has happened in the past seven years- way too much to go through in one blog post. The 13-year-old Caleb and the 19-year-old Caleb are highly different people. Looking back on it all, I’ve come up with a few thoughts on what I’ve learned throughout the teen years.
1) Surround yourself with like-minded people.
I can’t stress enough how critical this is in the teenage years. The people we surround ourselves with will have a tremendous amount of influence on the choices that we make. The friendships that we build will help shape where we hang out, what we talk about, and who we become. For me, it was my discipleship group in middle and high school that challenged me spiritually and held me accountable. We sharpened each other like iron sharpens iron and encouraged each other in all areas of our lives. It made a huge difference in who I am today. I’m all for branching out and getting to know all sorts of different people, but at the end of the day, it is crucial to build solid friendships with people who are going where you want to go.
2) Be intentional in everything you do.
To be intentional means to do something on purpose. We ought to strive to do everything on purpose. We should seek to purposefully add value in all that we do. I think this starts by identifying the intersection of our strengths, passions, and values- our “sweet spot”. The teen years is a prime time to begin discovering these things. When we utilize our “sweet spot” to serve others and create positive impact, we add tremendous value. For me, my strengths and passions for leadership and service were utilized through FCA in middle and high school and continue to this day through other areas of involvement. By freely giving of our strengths, passions, and values in order to add value to the areas in which we are involved, we intentionally make a choice to serve, rather than to be served.
3) Think “No Reserves, no Regrets”.
Now is the time to get comfortable getting out of your comfort zone. Meeting new people, speaking in public, or trying out for the sports team or the musical are all opportunities to get out of our comfort zones. Ever since middle school, I had always had a secret ambition to be a placekicker or a punter on my school’s football team. It wasn’t until senior year of high school that I finally mustered up the gumption (yes, I just said gumption) to go out as a punter for the team. It was one of the best decisions of my life, but it took getting out of my comfort zone to make it happen. The more we can find opportunities to step out of our comfort zone, the more we challenge ourselves to grow and think big. I think this takes a “no reserves, no regrets” sort of approach. If the opportunity is right, go for it and give it all you’ve got. My pastor at my church in Atlanta always says, “Attempt something so great for God that it would be doomed to fail unless He be in it”. Have no reserves and no regrets.
The teenage years is a period that is always changing. We go from being a small 7th grader, to getting our drivers license, to starting college. A lot happens in a fairly short amount of time, but it’s an incredible opportunity to use as a launching pad into the rest of our lives.
