The Summer I Turned Eighteen | The Teen Safe Zone
- Lexi - Founder
- Aug 6
- 7 min read
"Today is where your book begins; the rest is still unwritten.”
Hi everyone! Welcome, or welcome back, to The Teen Safe Zone, where it's safe for teens to be themselves. It feels bittersweet to type this opening line because I’ve officially turned eighteen, and it’s wild to consider that I’ve legally stepped into “adulthood”. Nonetheless, I’m not planning to change my mission for this website just yet, so no need to worry right now, haha.
I’m calling this current era “The Summer I Turned Eighteen” (yes, it’s a nod to TSTIP, which I have a like/hate relationship with—no “Team {Anyone}” over here lol). I celebrated my 18th birthday earlier last month on 11th of July, and while the thought of being eighteen sounds fun at first, reality didn’t hesitate to knock on my door shortly afterwards (but we’ll save all of the serious stuff for later lol). In honor of this new chapter starting, for today’s blog post, I’ll be discussing a brief reflection on my mission since starting this website, things I’ve learned/advice while being a teenager, and how an overview of the future of this blog!
The Start of This Website:
I started this website—almost four years ago to be exact—a few weeks after I turned fourteen, and right at the beginning of my freshman year of high school. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into that new chapter, all I knew was that I had questions that weren’t being answered, feeling “out-of-place” among peers in a world lost in technology and social media, and a voice of my own that I wanted a place to share for like-minded teens—because surely, I wasn’t the only one feeling this way, right?
I aimed to create a platform where I could share my thoughts and experiences as a teenager to fellow teenagers; a place that was safe to be yourself without judgement; a place where everyone could feel heard and important; and a place to get away from distractions of the world and feel connected to someone that’s just like you—someone who was trying to figure it all out herself. So, over the last four years, this is exactly what I did. Although I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be during certain periods of time, this platform I’ve created allowed me to come back to a safe, familiar place to share my experience, advice, and updates I had as a teenager. For that alone, I will be forever grateful, and I want to thank everyone who has tagged along these past few years.
Now fast-forward to today, I'm eighteen, a high school graduate, and I'm planning to start college soon. Crazy enough, I still feel the exact way I did when I started this blog at fourteen: ambitious and nervous for the future, not knowing what to expect moving forward, trying to find my place in life now as a “young adult”, and still with the same message in my heart. The only difference now is that I’m able to use my experience and knowledge I’ve gained as a teenager and apply it to my current situations. Sure, there are plenty of things I wish I did differently, but truthfully told, thanks to my younger teenage self, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. Thanks to her, I’m braver than before; learned how to enjoy the little things and live in the moment; learned to set boundaries; learned how to use my voice; learned (and am still learning) how to be patient with myself; and so much more. But even through all of the life lessons I learned as a teenager, all of these things are much easier said than done when life has its obstacles. You won’t always get things right on the first try, or as fast as you’d like—and that’s okay. Life won’t always be smooth-sailing, but remember that the road won’t always be bumpy either.
In whichever situation you’re currently in, my best advice is to embrace it—because growing up is a life-long learning journey.
Advice to Current Teenagers:
As I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of things I wish I could go back to tell my younger teenage self to do differently. But since it’s too late for me to do that, I’m lucky enough to have a platform where I can speak to teens who are in the same position that I once was:
I know that it can sometimes feel like these pivotal years are overwhelming to handle. Your idea of being a teenager was probably nothing like what you’re facing right now. Everyone else seems to have it “all together” while you’re crashing out on the inside. You’re struggling with self-comparison and finding a sense of your identity stronger than ever before. But how could you ever possibly find out who you want to be if it seems that everyone else has already chosen that for you? Navigating friendships and/or relationships isn’t always as “aesthetic” or fun as the movies you’ve watched growing up made it seem. In fact, there’s a chance you’ve had to learn the hard way that not everyone is worthy of getting your time and attention; not everyone you come across is willing to reciprocate (or appreciate) all that you have given or done for them. You always hear the phrase “you can’t pour from an empty cup,” and while it logically makes sense, it’s much harder to walk away from something/someone you love, even if you realize that at times it drains you. “Should I stay, or should I go?” you wonder. You learn that standing up for yourself isn’t easy, and it often comes with the tough acceptance of walking on that journey alone.
But you’re not alone. You’re not the only person in the world facing these challenges.
Somewhere out there, there are people like you—and you’ll find like-minded individuals when the time is right. But never be afraid of taking a journey on your own. There’s a difference between being “alone” and being “lonely”. We, as humans, are social creatures, so trust me, I know that the journey won’t feel good at the moment. Though I will share that on journeys like these, I’ve become the best version of myself when I took time to be alone and heal. Through this, I’ve learned to find peace within myself and not within others. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be content with being on your own rather than being around people who you don’t connect with/don’t have your best interests at heart. I found myself, even through life situations that tried to break me. So if I can do it, I know you’re capable of doing it too!
That breakup, that hurting, that insecurity, that “friend” who really isn’t your friend—it won’t last forever. High school drama won't last forever. This is only a season of your life, and it will come to pass. Life continues on after high school (and quite frankly, after college too), and that’s when reality comes in. Your teenage years are not the end of your story; your story is just beginning. You have a lot to look forward to because it isn’t over yet. :)
The Future of The Blog:
As previously stated, I don’t plan to end this blog or take down this website just because I recently turned eighteen. In fact, I think this only continues to motivate me further into my mission for this website. Now that I’m older, I have access to more resources to promote this blog (and honestly, more knowledge in general about branding than I did when I started this at fourteen lol), and a wider catalog of life experiences that I have to share. I’m soon stepping into college (and let me tell you, it has been far from easy), and I’m planning to use this experience and continue sharing my journey in life, just as I did when I was in high school. Also, in the four years since starting this, I’m sure some of you who has been following along since the earlier days of this website are probably now in similar situations that I am (turning eighteen, going to college/starting in the workfield, finding your place in this new chapter, etc.), and I want this website to grow up with us.
Remember, this website was made to be our voice, our experiences, and this is a part of our journey, too!
As far as blog content goes, I plan to upload as often as I can. I currently do not have a posting schedule because the next few weeks/months are quite unpredictable in terms of my availability, but I have a ton of blog ideas that I’d like to share (and I’ll try getting them uploaded before the summer ends), so look forward to that! I have a few back-to-school-related posts coming soon (advice for seniors, how I got accepted into thirteen universities, my unpopular opinions about college, etc.), as well as a full-length post about how I’m approaching young adulthood (which was supposed to be a section in this post, but it got too long lol). I imagine a majority of my posts will be college-and/or navigating-young-adulthood-related and all the shenanigans that come along with this new chapter, but I will try to squeeze in a few high school posts and teen advice still! If you’re a younger teen and you’d like to see a specific advice post, just let me know by contacting me on the “Contact Us” tab, and I will try my best to get to it! Along with this new chapter, I do hope that I can start tackling a wider variety of topics on this blog that are geared towards older teens and college students (like body image, dating in the modern world, etc.), but don’t worry, we’ll always keep it appropriate for everyone!
Lastly, I am hoping to get back into rebranding the website format around a bit, so look forward to new changes coming soon! Thank you all so much for the support and for following along these past few years! Cheers to a new chapter…
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