My grandpa always said, «It’s tough being a kid,» and he was right. It’s easy for adults to look down on their struggles, assuming they’re unimportant because they aren’t paying bills or surviving in «the real world.» You couldn’t pay me to go back and live as a 14-year-old again. The problems I have regarding finances and dating as a 20-something are so insignificant compared with the problems I had in the 8th grade, at least in terms of the emotional tools I have to deal with them. Back then, I felt everything so intensely, and all I had handle that was my diary and pure willpower. As an adult, I can do so many things to cope when things are going badly. I can pay to see a therapist, take a week off work, or party the night away! You can’t do any of that when you’re a young teenager.