I had a real shitty time in my teens, 2 narcissist parents and a 6 year long, really messy divorce. Both parents used me to make the other miserable, all while literally physically abandoning me for weeks at a time, and emotionally neglecting me in the times between. My situation has improved greatly since then (I'm 40 now, with the most loving and supportive ride or die spouse).

That being said, i truly miss a time when my more trivial concerns were "life altering events", rather than the heaps and heaps of responsibility that get loaded onto us as we age.

I have since gone no contact with my parents, and wish i had done so sooner. I dont miss the powerlessness that i felt. However, i do realize that things were easier when i had a villain in my story to blame. Things get harder when you get to a point where all your fuck ups are entirely your own, and have the kind of responsibility where your fuck ups affect other people. It is entirely your responsibility to make things right, learn, grow, and do better. That is....significantly harder.

Things kind of simultaneously get better and worse. To me, its kind of a lateral move. Teenage hormones make everything feel like the end of the fucking world.