Anne Frank once wrote, “Parents can only advise their children, or point them in the right direction.” This is very true for 13-year-olds. When one is 13, they feel like they should be taking a more active part in the world, but no adults let them. Younger children no longer want to be friends with these people because they are now considered adults by children. Thirteen-year-olds have a hard time trying to fit into a world that no longer recognizes them as children or adults.

Being 13 is a “middle age.” It has the problems of childhood and adulthood, but without the full benefits of either. Children aren’t taken seriously. If a young child has a great idea, no one accepts it because a child came up with it. At the same time, children are given some slack when it comes to rules. If a child does something wrong, they are forgiven because it is assumed that they didn’t know what they were doing. Adults aren’t given any slack, but if an adult talks, people listen. Thirteen-year-olds aren’t listened to because they are children, but they are punished because they are adults. I think that this is the main reason for teenage rebellion. If no one listens to you, why should you have to listen?

The passage from childhood to adulthood can be difficult, but it does have benefits. There are times when being 13 is fun-high school, more freedom, and more free time. Nancy Gibbs, in a Time magazine article about “Being Thirteen,” once asked, “What does it mean the be 13, backstage adults, watching on tiptoe, waiting to go onstage?” To me it means a difficult time, but if done right it can be a great time to enjoy the freedom from childhood without the responsibilities of an adult.