What is the point of having emotions? I know that with emotions comes happiness, joy, and excitement, but why do we have to deal with the negative emotions? Why do we have to feel pain, sadness, loneliness, hurt, and anger? They do nothing to help us move forward in life; they only hold us back because they make us vulnerable to all of our surroundings.

High school is the perfect arena to probe why emotions slow us down. Instead of paying attention to the beloved chemistry teacher’s discussion on chemical equilibriums, we are thinking about why so and so decided to stab me in the back or why she picked him over me. By doing this, we are completely oblivious to the teacher’s lecture.

Is it our fault that we did not pay attention to today’s lesson plan? Is it our fault that we are filled with so much angst and negative emotion? We could blame it on our raging hormones or the “evil” people who surround us everyday, but let’s be honest. We are only looking for an excuse. Teenagers crave attention. This is called being “selfish” or “self centered.” Our emotions drive us to make mistakes such as not paying attention to the road and texting all of your friends instead of writing an essay that’s due tomorrow.

Despite the fact that emotions slow down our maturing, what would life be without them? It would be one hundred percent boring. Emotions often delay our progress, but they’re technically what drive us to continue progressing. To grow, you have to cope with all of the negative emotions, which is what teenagers often have trouble doing. So, when dealing with emotions, remember that they are a meant to an end, not a roadblock.