This week's guest columnist is Betsy Murphy of Jim Thorpe.

"Teenagers only have to focus on themselves. It's not until we get older that we realize that other people exist."These words, said by American actress Jennifer Lawrence, capture those years between childhood and adulthood quite perfectly.Everything becomes drama in the lives of adolescents and warrants an "Oh my God!" response with a roll of the eyes."OMG, did you hear what Katy said to Michelle?" "OMG, I have a science test tomorrow and I haven't even looked at the stupid notes!" "OMG, if Jimmy breaks up with her, do you think he'll ask you out?"I am not poking fun here, just stating facts. When I was a teen back in the '80s, I did some things that might have made me scream "Oh my God!" too. I was a reckless kid who climbed roofs on the row houses in Reading to watch sunrises and sunsets. I never worried about falling off. I was only wondering if there was place I could fit in. I wanted to know if there was a place I could feel safe.When I was that age, I would always figure out something to do because if I ever told my mother I was bored, she would have me wash windows, do the dishes, the laundry, and even clean the Sunday school classroom. So when my daughter says she's bored I tell her to clean her room. I'm afraid there's something growing inside her pile of laundry, a mutant being of some sort that's going to jump out someday and wrestle me to the floor.I understand that each generation of teens is different. Talking to a few of my neighbors who are in their 80th decade of life, I learned that for fun they went swimming in the Lehigh River. Most of the time, however, they had to help out at home with baby-sitting or add to the family income by delivering newspapers or working in the retail shops in their towns.Speaking of swimming, why is it that some teens can paddle upstream while others flop around like fish out of water? I'm proud of my daughter. She has a job. But then, like so many others of her age, she doesn't have the motivation to do much of anything else. I can blame it on her shyness, but isn't that just an excuse?Every generation does its stupid stuff that must be written down somewhere as a rite of passage into adulthood. In my mom's time, they skipped school, smoked cigarettes and a few "bad eggs" robbed a store.In Reading, we used to smoke that funny thing, drank Jack Daniels, and went to vomit parties. Our "bad eggs" were just bad, robbing people and stealing cars. One of my classmates is doing life for beheading a man. Drugs ruined lives all around me. It's too bad kids can't escape reality through music like most of us did. Then there were some who couldn't find a way out of their mess and committed suicide.In every decade of moral decay, girls got pregnant. In Mom's day, those who got "in trouble" dropped out or went to another school. In my time there were a lot of babies born or abortions performed. Unwanted pregnancies are fewer now, but the drug problem is out of control.My daughter is about to leave the teen scene as she nears her 20th birthday. I'm fortunate to say she never came home drugged out or pregnant or reported dead by the police. She's hooked into her laptop and smartphone and that Japanese cartoon thingy called Black Butler.Sometimes I swear I gave birth to an alien when I see her with all those things hanging from her ears.When I think of what I've learned about those awkward years, I offer this advice to today's teens. Look and listen. Keep your mouth shut until someone is done talking. Try not to judge. Give hugs and pats on the backs or even light touches with a finger on the arms. It's a cold world out there filled with a lot of cold people. Don't be one of them.To parents of teenagers, even though you still see the baby, the toddler, and the child in your daughter or son, they are young adults now with lots of questions that cannot be answered.When I look at my daughter, it's hard for me to see her as a young woman. In my eyes, I still see my baby with her little wobbly head. So much has changed since then as I've watched her grow, but not everything. Once in a while, she has one of those moments when her head wobbles like it used to do, reminding me that no matter her age, she'll always be my baby.For anyone who would like to be a guest columnist, Rich Strack will help you write your idea. Contact him at

katehep11@gmail.com.