In response to Emeka Anyanwu’s column (“Thou hath no `teen angst'”), teen angst, as it is defined in my mind, has little to do with the trite, meaningless lives of characters on most TV shows, or about the financial standing of the family you came from and the trials of survival.

For me, teen angst was about discovering the horrible “truth” of the world that I had been sheltered from as a child. The terrifying realization of the emptiness and shallow meaning of the void that we call life. I was incensed by the completely self-centered, ignorant lives of those around me, who seemed fundamentally incapable of understanding my depth of fear and reproach of the circumstances of my existence. What possible good is there in a world of loneliness surrounded by superficial lemmings?

As time wore on, I came to realize that I was not alone in these feelings. Having been ostracized by those more “popular” than myself for not buying into their tripe, I found a new home with other exiled “geeks.” Here I developed a number of friendships which helped me come to terms with existence, and embrace, rather than loathe it.

As to whether I had “serious emotional and/or psychological” problems, I would say no. Budding psychiatrists would say “Prozac!” But I don’t believe that you can be medicated out of depression, you have to find your way out. What I experienced is entirely normal – I was afraid. That is what teen angst is. Not pain, not suffering, but its anticipation. Overcoming it is about developing the strength to fight it.

In no way do I mean to diminish the suffering of others. But having a rough life in a poor country is not teen angst, it is tribulation.

David Klipec

Senior

Computer engineering