Friday Five: Favorite Things About Children 13-17

Last week, my Friday Five was about my favorite things about children under 13. Today's Friday Five is my list of my favorite qualities of children 13-17.

1. independence without responsibility- Teenagers experience incredible growths in independence during these years but don't have near the amount of responsibilities that adults take on. That is why we are adults and they are teenagers. Not because they are under 18, but because they don't have the responsibilities. I am incredibly envious of teenagers for that. What I would give to be able to worry about what I am going to wear to a date night instead of hoping I will be able to pay next month's car payment.
2. potential for greatness- Teenagers have the world at their fingertips, pardon the cliche. They can be anything they want given enough determination, passion, and some luck in finances, networking, and application wording. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be an actress and moonlight as a veterinarian. When I was 16, I gave up my acting dreams since I hadn't stepped foot on a stage in a couple years and turned to being a veterinarian and writer. At 17, I wanted to be a veterinarian and a soldier. I changed my mind so many times... and the awesome thing was that I had that luxury!
3. energy- I remember a time when I could stay up for 48 hours, get about 2 or 3 hours of sleep, and then go to class with a fully functioning brain... without coffee. Teenagers have so much freaking energy. I miss having energy like that. It seems like I can't stay up for more than 16 hours at a time now without feeling like my brain has went mushy. I certainly don't have the energy to be on the go all the time anymore. I'm not even 30 yet and there are days where I think getting old sucks!
4. passionate about nothing and everything- Teenagers have two modes of operation: meh and OMFG.I.LOVE.IT! Teenagers, when they care about something... they really care. If it is something that they could get behind, they don't just walk passively with the idea, they throw a freaking parade complete with Super Bowl worthy entertainers. At least, that is what it looks like on the outside. It is hard to get a kid to find a passion sometimes, but all it takes is a tiny spark and they will take off with it. It is beautiful to watch, even if their passion is annoying or boring to me.
5. industrious- Alright, I'm not saying that teenagers take on chores with a smile and cheer. I mean that they do as much "work" as they can with as little effort as possible. They find shortcuts and loopholes in everything they do so they can cram more "me" time into their lives. Sometimes, it blows up in their faces. But sometimes, they hit on some strokes of genius. If they can't find a way to shorten the time consumption of their workload, they might find someone else to do it. Or try to come up with a reason to avoid doing the work. Or something else equally creative. I know it can be annoying but just think of the thinking processes that go into their schemes. It is quite amazing.