Are the Teen Years Carefree?

I was talking with a group of friends recently about whether teenagers are carefree. A couple of people thought teenagers could be, and are, carefree. Two of the mothers of teens in the group insisted that their own teen years had been completely carefree.

I'm going to be honest -- I don't buy it.

The teen years are some of the most stressful years of a person's life, in my opinion.  It's not that you can't have fun; sure, there are fun times. There are dances and parties and friends who matter and conquering hard subjects and visiting college campuses and learning to drive. But there's so much more than that.

There's going through puberty.  There are mean girls and boys. There's gossip. There are first kisses and boyfriends and girlfriends and getting dumped and falling in and out of love. There's the need to get high grades and ace the SATs.  There are teachers who suck the life out of you and a school day that starts before your body and brain are biologically ready to start. There are parents who nag you, rules that don't make sense. There's the very point that adolescence is a time of great change, and in every great time of change, even our happiest, like when we get married or have a baby, there is inevitable stress.

It's not all on the surface, either. Even the happiest, most contended, apparently well-adjusted teens struggle with feelings of identity, and there are not all conscious thoughts. Who am I and why am I here? Is it better to be a child or an adult?  What do I want to do with my life?  What am I good at? What am I not good at?

I have yet to meet a teen who has never had a blip of misery throughout his or her teen years.  It may look all cushy, with parties, and friends, and summers off from school, but to me, being a teen is one of the most difficult things you can be. What do you think?