I'm going 17 and there are some 14 year old boys trying to pick a fight with me. I know I'm supposed to be mature and not to be provoked, which I am. However, I really feel like teaching them a lesson, by my fists.

Thoughts?

I say don't fight with them, it's clearly what they want you to do. I'm not much older than you, but having been bullied through my whole childhood & a good part of my teen years what I've realized is that not everything deserves a reaction.

Plus if you fight them physically, it'll just look bad on you in the end. As you said you're much older (I know 3 years doesn't sound like a lot by itself, but the difference in emotional maturity between 14 and 17 is pretty big). Also from my experience, I've been able to hurt my bullies a lot worse with words, I guess because I could tell what their insecurities were.

I'd just tell them what you think of them, but let someone else be the person that snaps and "teaches them a lesson". Or maybe they'll just never learn their lesson, in which case they'll grow up being that asshole everyone dislikes. It's their own problem at that point.

If you say to them “I guess what they say about prepubescent 14 Is true” and walk away you will win the fight without even touching them. Don’t believe me try it.