A Stumbling Block

I'm thinking of submitting to a particular magazine, but the issue they're currently reading for is a themed issue. They want pieces about or inspired by the trials of adolescence. No brilliant ideas have struck me yet, so I'm doing a little freewriting here on the blog. Maybe something will come to me.

Let's see, adolescence. I think it kind of sucked. Maybe my vision is too narrow, I don't know, but when I hear adolescence I automatically flash back to my middle school days. That was absolutely the worst time for me. I didn't know who I was, where I belonged, who I wanted to be. I was awkward. Yeah, yeah, "Everyone is awkward at that age," you say. But I'm not so sure. I bet you knew some people - the popular people, usually - who seemed to have it all together at every age. Or maybe they were just better at pretending than the rest of us.

Angst is a tricky subject for writing. If you do it wrong, it just seems so overdone and typical. Not the kind of writing I want. Same goes for teenage puppy love, which is another obvious topic for writing about adolescence. There has to be something else I can do. Teen struggles with parents' divorce. Still seems a bit common, as one of my old professors would say. Instead of the usual teen trying to grow up too fast, maybe it could be Teen fights against puberty. Ha ha! That sounds funny. Maybe a little Peter Pan-ish. But could be interesting..... but still doesn't really strike a vibe with me.

Oh well. I'll keep on trying.