Trial Of The Century lyrics

What does it mean when you抮e sixteen
The world抯 a cold and lonely place
But you抮e still kicking
Every door down in the place

The war of words they抮e so upright
You pass a hundred sleepless nights
And the worst is yet to come or so they say
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/g/good_riddance/trial_of_the_century.html ]
Here comes seventeen
And just beyond
There抯 tolerance and empathy
To protect you from them all
A stand of evergreen
Just like the places we would always talk about
To catch you when you fall

You hear a knock outside the door
It never rains here anymore
So now there抯 nothing new
To was away the pain

A frightened face your clouded mind
The memories you抳e trailed behind
And seventeen still feels light years away

Nobody seems to understand you
As your grasping for that innocence
Sequestered in your mind

Was it guilt or were they blind
All this time