I feel lost

Dear Pastor,

I am 15 years old and I feel so lost. Lately, I have been out of control and I don't know what to do. My behaviour towards my family is awful and I feel like I'm suffocating most of the time.

I feel trapped in my own mind. I always wanted to be in showbiz and the performing arts business. But I can't do that until I know who I am and where I belong. Pastor, what should I do?

C.T.

Dear C.T.,

One famous psychologist described young people in your age group as going through the "tumultuous years". It is the time young people are not sure of themselves and why they do certain things.

It is the period of time where parents and other family members seem not to understand why teenagers behave in ways that they consider disrespectful.

Many suffer from mood swings, and if parents do not try to understand what young people are going through, they will curse them and threaten them.

It is the time also when young people have high goals but seek to change from year to year what they really want to do. For example, you like show business, but you may not succeed and you may even feel that things are not going your way.

So you will change and the folks around you may laugh and say that you are unstable. Because they may say that often, you may believe that you are indeed unstable; but you are not.

It is just that in your mind you cannot do what you want to because of circumstances.

You have a right to change as you go through these tumultuous years. What you should do right now is to focus on your education. Get the best education you can because it is the best way forward.

If you focus on one thing at a time, your life will not be out of control. You would not be running here and there to know what to do. You want to be an entertainer and that is a good goal.

HARD TO SUCCEED

But what is not known by many is that the show business and the performing arts business are considered two of the most difficult areas of work and it is hard to become successful.

With an education you would be able to make choices that can be of benefit to you. Look around and you will discover that the people who have done very well in show business are educated, focused and know how to remain relevant.

Right now, you feel confused so I would suggest that you should consider talking to a career counsellor for guidance.

Pastor.