Older generations have always looked at those younger and wondered where things went wrong. Usually, this happens around middle age or later as one watches their grandkids navigate a world they don’t recognize. But lately I’ve been feeling older than I actually am, experiencing these same feelings as I look at teens my own age.

Living as a dual-enrolled student (that is, taking college courses at Pikes Peak State College while still being a high schooler) in Woodland Park creates a bit of a perspective shift. While my birth year suggests I ought to belong to one group, my day-to-day life is focused squarely on things many of my peers likely haven’t even considered yet.

When I step back and look at the typical teenage experience, it feels like peering into a foreign culture.

The most obvious hurdle is the language. This remains a revolving problem for me as it seems the slang today is always changing. I’ll hear someone describe a situation as “cooked” or “lowkey mid,” and have to resist the urge to ask for a dictionary. New phrases are invented overnight, creating a barrier that makes simple conversation difficult. And by the time I figure out what one thing means, my peers have already moved on.

On a recent trip to visit the college I’m probably attending (more to come), my fellow admits were talking about Senior Skip Day and Senior Assassin (a game involving water guns and trying to be the last one eliminated). I had no idea what these apparently common rites of passage for high school seniors were. For me, missing school never seemed like a possibility.

I’m sure this is a bridge that everyone crosses eventually. At some point, the slang becomes outdated and the focus shifts. I have no doubt my peers will find their footing once the real world becomes unavoidable. For now, I may not know the latest terms or be up-to-date on the current social trends, and I’m comfortable with that. I’d rather be looking toward the future than trying to keep pace with a culture that feels like it’s speaking a language I was never meant to learn.

The famous British economist John Maynard Keynes once said, “In the long run we are all dead.” While his statement, albeit dark, offers a sort of definitive solution to my problems and indeed those of each reader, in the short term I suspect my generation will shape other generations just as other generations will shape mine. And that’s okay too.

Ruth Wiseman is a Woodland Park native and a dual-enrolled high school student attending Pikes Peak State College.