The adults, they tell us we’re too young
They tell us that we’re fools, we don’t know right from wrong
We cannot make decisions for ourselves or think on our own
We will not have opinions until we are grown

We’re never right, we’re not unique
They tell us to listen and do not speak
We are all wild and party fiends
Who drink and smoke and love being demeaned

They think we all wear tight jeans and low tops
They think every one of us has something against the cops
We wear too much make-up, we have coloured hair
We listen to loud music and all we do is swear

We all sleep around and do dirty things
We all do drugs in the park by the swings
To tell you the truth, some of these things are true
Not to all of us but just to a few

We are teens, we all make mistakes
But they still judge us and wonder why we break
Some of us have good reasons for what we do
Isn’t it weird to think we’re just like you?

We are not finished there, no we have just started
Just listen now, we will not be outsmarted
The teens that do what you say is immoral
Have something to say about your quarrel

The boy who you told was always wrong
Has been hiding a secret he’s hid for too long
His father’s a drunk, his mother is absent
He can’t do his homework after every “accident”

The girl who you told not to speak
Has been quiet her whole life and is reaching her peak
Her parents deny there is anything wrong and she’s not depressed
But why does the thought of suicide make her mind less stressed?

The girl who goes out and parties and drinks
Can’t stand to be at home while her heart sinks
Her mother and father are getting divorced
They fight every day and her actions feel forced

The boy you made fun of for wearing tight jeans
Has been bullied before and doesn’t know what the word friend means
All he knows is that he likes people of the same gender
And if he isn’t accepted he’ll have to surrender

The boy you told disrespected the cops
Has been fighting with his anger and grief nonstop
His father was an officer and was killed last year
He misses him and doesn’t understand why he can’t still be here

The girl you told should not colour her hair
Lost her mother to breast cancer before she could reach the hospital there
Her hair is pink like the ribbon she keeps
Next to her night stand while she cries herself to sleep

The girl you told wears too much eyeliner
Has been abused since she became a minor
The make-up covers the bruises on her face
That she fears if seen they will only bring her more hurt and disgrace

The boy you told was disgusting for doing drugs
Deals with the pain when he plugs in his ear buds
The high he says makes him forget
The father who left him and his sister along with the debt

Is this not enough to prove that maybe you weren’t right about us?
You shouldn’t judge what you were once and that you can trust
By this time we know right from wrong but we still need your support
Please listen to our thoughts and opinions before you retort