As a teenager, I am inclined to compose through poetry and prose the thoughts which manifest themselves inside my head as legions impose themselves upon one who is succumbing to a horrid ailment. Whether these thoughts which constantly plague me throughout my life are of any use is debatable, however, when in terms of thinking upon life and its many complications, I am inclined to quote a dear inspiration of mine, Michel de Montaigne, by saying, “All of my other faculties are low and common; but this one I think I am singular and very rare, thereby worthy of gaining a name and reputation.”

To elaborate upon what I believe to be the main concern of my peers in teenage culture (seeking companionship), I believe that we spend most of our time hunting in vain. You see, our need to find someone with whom we can share all of our life thoughts, problems, concerns, etcetera, is derived not from the hormonal lust which many people believe it to be, but rather a chronic loneliness which claims the heart and soul of every teenager in existence. We, the lot of us, are constantly on the hunt for what we believe to be our life partner. What we do not understand, is how to go about searching for this person. I, in my personal experience, have tried a great deal many outlets into which I could plug my need for companionship. My most recent outlet, I found, was the smoothest. At first, it was successful, but there was a large mistake brought to my attention when I realized that I was tossing a metal puzzle piece into a direct current electrical socket. Turns out opposites, in fact, do attract, but not the right qualities. Now, what is it that makes me differ from the rabble of other of teens who complain about failed relationships, and lost love? Nothing.

See, what we all seem to believe is that the problems of others are petty, and while I sometimes even look at someone and say, “now she has nothing to be complaining about,” I must, in turn, reevaluate my thought and remember that the intensity which all problems are assigned is assigned in relation to the problems which have been confronted by whomsoever is experiencing said difficulty in life. For example, one who watches their dog die is probably going to be less visibly distressed about watching a deer get run over than one who has never before witnessed the demise of an organism. Or, to take this to a more extreme example, one who has attempted suicide is more likely to sympathize with another in the same situation, but less likely to actually care about the problem of another who, say, just went through a breakup with his or her boy or girlfriend. Why? Because once again, this is a matter of the comparison of the two problems. In relation to the mental scarring which follows a failed suicide, a boyfriend of three months ‘breaking your heart’ is almost a laughable matter. Now, while attempted suicide and dead deer have seemingly no relation to the topic at hand, they must be kept in mind as a reminder that the intensity of all problems should be calculated not in comparison of your life experience, but rather in relation to whomsoever is going through the experience at hand.

While sorrow is frequently sought out, glorified, and/or criticized, an emotion which is never critiqued or devalued is happiness. Happiness, in of itself is the epitome of ‘a good thing.’ When someone is happy, the people around him or her are happy. That is, assuming, that those of whom surround said happy person are not begrudgingly angry. These angry souls will, when in an extreme enough state, seek to destroy one's happiness. However, happiness is rarely recognized by teenage culture due to our hunger for sorrow - we thrive upon sorrow, using it for our benefit when we can, and sometimes, even, to harm others.

In our hunt for love, Millennials find ourselves hopelessly searching our high schools for someone who is attractive (Hollywood style of course), intelligent, humorous, all the things which we believe we need in a person. I, once again, do agree that I do this. However, what I have realized, that many of my peers have not, is that there is absolutely not a flat standard for how these qualities can be calculated. Love is not found using a simple mathematical equation which acts as a panacea for our hunt. It is rather a limited function which changes from person to person touching many different coordinates on its way to the end limit. For example, what I may find attractive, the person next to me might not. I might laugh at a joke about sixteenth century philosophers, but others might not. Or, I might even have a lower or higher standard of intelligence than others. Everything is completely circumstantial.

The lack of knowledge of circumstantial attractiveness (both mental and physical) causes an impediment, not for one to find someone whom he or she finds attractive, but rather causes an impediment for his or her peers to understand exactly why said person is attracted to the other. This misunderstanding will lead to jibes and jests at the person from his peers, in turn making the attracted person give up and move on without actually trying for what would have probably been a good fit for him. The same lack of knowledge of circumstances, is found in adults. It is actually found more commonly in adults. You see, adults have had a significant amount more relative experience than teenagers (usually) and with this experience, they lose their understanding of why exactly teenagers take hardships the way we do. And because of their lack of understanding, teenagers find themselves in an even worse state.

Now, how is all of this relevant to love? We do not generally find our ‘life loves’ until later on in life anyways, correct? Correct, however, this certain need for strong social status quickly sets off a fury inside of us because we now need to juggle our loneliness, lack of a companion with whom we can actually relate, and need to fit in. In this daunting circus act which we call high-school, we are piled with other stressful weights such as school work, college, and figuring out what we want to do with out lives. Combining the social issues and the educational issues causes a masquerade of stress which in turn bestows upon us a violent frustration and fury with life, forcing us to act out in extreme forms of expression.