Depending on the respective culture, the life of a teenager can vary greatly. Certain cultures demand more from their teenagers in terms of family obligations than do other cultures. For example, the typical social life of a teenager whose heritage is tied to Northern Albania demands that the teenager honor his or her family’s wishes above all else.

The obligations and the respect that an Albanian teenager shows towards his or her family are very important, and that is what keeps the family tied to each other, and form a bond that not anybody can break. Being an Albanian teenager myself, and getting raised in Northern Albania gave me the knowledge to get to know the exact demands that the parent puts towards the child, and the obligations that the child is supposed to fulfill. The first rule is “The parent is always right” it doesn’t matter what the situation is, you always have to listen and obey. I think that that rule is very right, because the child doesn’t know anything, and they should now rely on what their mind says but on what the parents say. Also with this rule the child understands that the only person he can listen and know it is right is the parent. This makes the parent-child bond much stronger.

The society around the Albanian children had a great impact on you too, because if you don’t follow the rules of the society then you would be considered a very “bad” person, and everybody would point you out for something you did. Also there were cases when the teenager would be pushed away from the family and the village. For example the most important demand that an Albanian girl has to fulfill is not to date or have sexual intercourse with anybody except for her husband after her marriage. You are expected to do that, and if you don’t then you would be considered the lowest person of all, and you wouldn’t find a man to marry you. Also your family is the one who chooses your husband, except for some cases you had no choice on your mate. If you choose him then he has to be Albanian and definitely from the same religion. For the boys is more different, because they have more choices and they don’t have as many limits as girls have.

It seems that everything sounds so brutal and not fair for the Albanian teenagers. Not having a choice in what they do, and all these harsh demands that they have to fulfill, but the respect in the family towards each other is very high. There is a lot of love, and harmony. The “no sex before marriage” rule regulates the relationship the man and woman will have in the future. They will have more respect for each other when they know that the person they are with is all theirs. I think very strongly that the demands and obligations that the Albanian teenagers have to fulfill are very useful and right, because all these rules in the future, will bring harmony in these teenager’s lives.