This time of year is always nostalgic for me. After 31 years of teaching at Killingly High School, and six additional years working as a paraprofessional, by this time, I would be back in school with my students. However, I did sign up to work as a substitute teacher. I cannot seem to stray far from that infamous phenomenon of nature called “Teenagers.”

If you come to the high school, and walk through the cafeteria during lunchtime, stop long enough to listen to the vibrations and rhythms of youth. Those truly aware will feel a sort of magic in the air.

Not everyone will recognize this as a manifestation of youth. It is seen through different eyes: those who remember the magic, those who have forgotten the magic, and those who do not want to remember, due to the pain associated with being young.

On the other hand, let’s talk about the trouble with teenagers. The times we find their laughter and jokes obnoxious. Could we be hiding a bit of jealousy, knowing our time for youth has passed?

No, I think it goes deeper. The trouble with teenagers is that they force us to remember our past, which creates a longing to recapture the spirit of youth before all the responsibilities of being an adult held us captive.

The truth of the matter is this: teenagers remind us of who we used to be and the pain left scattered across a lonely playground. And that lonely playground lives on.

New generations may come and go, but the same conflicts and battles remain. In many ways, it is harder to be a teenager today than when I was a freshman at the Norwich Free Academy in 1968. With COVID, staff shortages, cyberbullying, mass shootings and more, being a teenager is like walking through a cornstalk maze trying to find the way out.

Besides new obstacles, old battles prevail. There is the difficulty in finding friends or fitting in without looking too anxious, and for some, trying to keep the secret of living in a dysfunctional home hidden from others.

As for me, I will stay with teenagers for as long as I can. What makes me want to keep returning to a place surrounded by a bunch of rambunctious, impulsive, big children?

I feel the need to help.

School used to be a safe place. Now there are so few of us left in the trenches. The greatest example of love is by helping a young person find their way in life.

And maybe I am being a little selfish. If I were to admit my own truth deep inside, where the spirit of childhood joy lives and breathes eternally, I would say this: being with teenagers gives me the hope that one day, I will find my way back to being the person I used to be.

Concetta Falcone-Codding is the author of “The Lonely Nest.” To contact email sarah_falcone@yahoo.com.