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People, mostly adults, are sure that teenagers are bad. That
we're all out to shoplift, steal, and terrorize everyone in the
world.
As many teens are aware, we get an unfair reputation because
of the small percentage of teens that are the troublemakers.
I will admit that there are teens out there that do shoplift,
steal and cause trouble. Most of us are not like that at all.
We care about our friends, our families, and our communities.
We have jobs, we are responsible people, and we just want to
get ahead in life.
When people stereotype teens as bad people, who don't care
about anything except themselves, they inhibit us from getting
ahead. Their lack of understanding keeps these stereotypes alive.
Adults need to remember what it was like to be a teenager.
They need to remember the way they acted. I know for a fact
that my mother was the president of her school her last year
and I know she was a caring, loving person. I also know for a
fact that she has, on occasion, said, "Ooh, look at that
bunch of teenagers. They're hoodlums."
When she said this for, what seemed the like tenth thousandth
time, I said something to her about it. I told her that I really
didn't like it when she said stuff like that because it hurt
me, as a teenager and as her daughter because I am not like that
and none of my friends are like that.
I feel, as a group, teenagers need to voice their dislike
of these comments, in a positive way, to adults who say them
and hopefully we can change the stereotypes so that by the time
our children are teenagers they won't have to put up with these
stereotypes. If we can't, hopefully, we will remember what it
was like to be a teenager and we will not keep those stereotypes
alive by saying the same kinds of things. |
