As teenagers, we often are not taken seriously by authority. We are held hostage by the assumption we are troublemakers and can do no good. That is quite a stereotype because teenagers are the next generation. They will be controlling and running the world someday. It might not be in the exact mindset they have right now, but the ideas are all coming from an identical area and viewpoint. We are experiencing things in our world right now and the exposure to the media and large political leaps where we live are important for us to be aware of, especially for our future. The groundwork for our future is right now. Teenagers have an important role in society. What we do, what we accomplish, what we are exposed to has every effect on, not only our personal future, but the future of society as a whole. Every generation grows up in a completely distinct world. Depending on when you grew up, there are varied aspects of life that could have had an influence on the development of your future society. When people refer to teenagers with a negative connotation it doesn’t make sense because that person was once a teenager, so they are contradicting themselves. There are many teens who are risk-takers and are drawn to adventure and danger. These aren’t necessarily bad qualities to obtain because every society needs that. Every society can’t function without the minds that think and work differently, and aren’t afraid to voice opinions and ideas that are unheard of, or made out to be classified as “wrong.” This might come off as a bias opinion, but teens are highly intelligent and are regularly solving problems. They have the insight of the future. They are new minds open to wild ideas because they feel they are invincible. As teenagers, we need to have faith and power within ourselves. We need to have initiative. We are in charge of the future generations. If we don’t make a change ourselves, how will improvements in society occur? Our parents play a large role in how we see society because they raise us and bring us up to believe certain ways, and when we become teenagers, we begin to think about the world and our role in it. Teens have the right mindset and are excited and motivated for the future of society. Just because we are young doesn’t mean we are incapable of creating change and improvements in our society. The article was published in ‘The Poughkeepsie Journal’, a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
