Does it hurt...being a teenager?

I should have known when the minivan dropped off a load of teenage boys that the music would not be my only form of entertainment for the evening. I had been unable to obtain accurate information about what time each band would be playing and not wanting to miss the 2 I was going for we arrived early. Thank goodness or we would have missed not only the ridiculously long will call line but the super white trash fight between some dude and his girlfriend. I didn't see the whole thing but I heard that she was holding her jaw like she'd been hit and was mouthing off a string of profanities to her boyfriend who was being held back by several large men. In true female form she burst into a torrent of tears as soon as security arrived and called out to the teen who had caught the whole thing on his handy video cell phone that he better delete it or she'd get him too! Yikes! Since we had 2 less desirable acts to sit through we had the opportunity to observe the gross display of teenage insecurities, bad fashion and hormones gone wild. We marveled at the styles kids are wearing these days, verifying that we are in fact getting old. More than once Candice wondered out loud how parents could let their child leave the house looking the way they did. One teen was wearing a cute turquoise dress that was actually just a long shirt and super high pink patten leather heels. The rhetorical question was answered when we saw the girl momentarily pull down the leggings that she was wearing as hot pants under her "dress." My personal favorite was the pubescent boy who had removed his shirt and had it tucked in the back of his pants, between his legs and had it hanging out the front again in classic diaper style. Hmmmm?

Good Charlotte played a fun set, they even got me jumping and waving my arms. Nicole Ritchie sat quietly in the sound and light area about 15 ft away from me. Can I just say how itty bitty that girl is. I know that people in Hollywood have a different standard than the real world but she looks like a 12 year old. I got a huge kick out of the teenage girls who would come stand by me to get a picture of her over my shoulder. A couple of them were so excited they were almost in tears. Sorry, there just aren't very many celebrities who could get me that worked up.

Boys Like Girls were lots of fun too. They have been my motivational running music at the gym lately and they were actually a decent live show despite all their annoying teen fans. Some of their lyrics are extra cheesy but the 17 year old inside me just loves them.

Overall, the evening reinforced my gratitude for maturity and self awareness. There is not enough money in the world that could persuade me to re-do my teen years. They are deeply repressed in my memory somewhere and I have no intention of digging them out and dusting them off. A visit to the world of teens is enough and begs the question, does it hurt? I mean it is as painful as it looks to be a teenager?