I think we all know that teens can have very fluctuated images of themselves; even me sometimes. We think we are invincible. All of the things we learn about drugs, DUI's, sex; we think none of these things can happen to us. Today I got my driving permit. My thoughts beforehand were "this will be easy," and "I know how to do this, I drive in a car everyday." But after immediately forgetting my seatbelt and almost running a stop sign, I realize how wrong I was. There was so much to think about - seatbelt, street signs, pedestrians, cars parked on the side of the road, headlights, speed limit, turn signals - it was overwhelming. It's in this sense that teens don't realize how much they need to pay attention to, that WE are in the driver seat, and that there are so many obstacles all around us. Some we swerve to avoid, but others we crash into head-on. Those are the ones you hear about the most; the teen pregnancies, and drunk students. The ones you don't hear about as much, are the ones about people who saw the kid run into the street a block away, and the ones who stop completely at stop signs, look both ways, and proceed carefully. The kids in Spreading Peace, Debate, and MESA (Math Engineering Science Achievement) are neglected, yet they're the ones with the headlights on.
We need to stop and look around, to see the nice houses and yards we're driving by, and to be careful of the other neighborhoods we may wander into, with molding roofs and sagging porches. Our generation holds so much more power then we believe. We're the ones to inherit the warming crisis, overpopulation, the digital age, and the crushing obesity rates. Can we do it? We'll just have to wait and see.
Rose
Song of the day: "If It's Love" by Train
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