The Gift of Gratitude

In the past two weeks, I’ve experienced a time of great tragedy juxtaposed with a time of celebration. It’s been trying and tough, but it’s shown me the unpredictability of life. I cried and I laughed. I mourned a death and I met a new baby. Above all else, I remembered the importance of family.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that teenage lives are hectic. We are incredibly occupied with our own lives, and friends, and all the other minutiae of life. Some would even say we are the busiest generation. We make time for school, extracurriculars, homework and friends, but family can often get lost in the shuffle. I know personally, aside from brief family dinners, sometimes I don’t even communicate with my immediate family every day. My extended family is mainly situated out of state, so I really only see them a few times a year. I look forward to our reunions, but usually not extremely enthusiastically.

But this time, when I was with my family, I appreciated it more than I ever have before. My grandmother passed away on November 17th, and seeing the throngs of people who convened to celebrate her life really reminded me of that never-fail support system we take for granted: our families.

In the following days, I tried to get as much as possible of my time with relatives. I discussed the Vietnam war with a older cousin. I took a walk along a river with my grandma and uncles. I played with the afore mentioned baby and couldn’t help but break into a grin when she grasped my finger. Maybe it was just the holiday spirit, but I felt incredibly thankful for these moments.

So while these upcoming holiday season offers us teens the temptation to hole up with a book or a laptop, relax while playing some festive tunes, or meet friends at Starbucks for a seasonal drink in one of those cute red cups, instead, use this happy, uncluttered time to spend time with those who matter most. Take a younger cousin out for sledding and hot chocolate, or spend an afternoon decorating a Christmas tree with the grandparents. This holiday season, spending time with family might be the best gift you can give.

The Implications of Adolescence

In a previous post, I discussed the concept of childhood as a recent innovation. Then, I started thinking: if the tradition of “childhood” hasn’t been around for very long, then how newfangled is the idea of “adolescence”? And what are the implications of specifically defining this period on those individuals that currently reside in it?

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, adolescence refers to, “the state or process of growing up” or “the period of life from puberty to maturity terminating legally at the age of majority”. It is generally accepted to be the ages between 13 and 19. According to that dictionary, the word was first used in the 15th cenury, but psychologist Granville Stanley Hall is usually credited with the “discovery” of the phase of adolescence in 1904. He asserted that the phase was significant because “adolescents' adaptability might provide the jumping-off point for the fulfillment of human potential and evolutionary advancement”.

Hall was eerily accurate. Researchers have made vast strides in understanding this phase of human development and many studies show how occurrences during adolescence affect all of an individual’s life. It’s clear that having a well-rounded adolescence promotes a healthy transition into a well-adjusted adulthood, but problems during that time can also heavily impact the rest of one’s life. One example of this can be seen in this recent study that suggests that teenage obesity increases the risk of being morbidly obese in maturity, implying severe health complications that only worsen with age.

In another study, researchers found that alcohol and marijuana usage in adolescence causes frontal lobe brain developmental delay and damage, associated with a decrease in attention and executive function and memory performance. Since the young adult mind is flexible and still developing, abstaining from substance abuse could reverse the situation, but if not stopped, damage could be permanent. I don’t want to sound preachy, as I am definitely guilty of assuming the “teenagers are invincible” mentality on occasion, but overall, we need to realize that the effects of our actions have long term consequences.

Adolescence, like childhood, is a time of growth but we have much less restrictions. I know personally how vastly different this stage in my life is compared to my childhood, and it seems like everyone around me knows it, too. Teachers don’t hold our hands anymore and walk us through our curriculum, but we still have parental curfews. We have car keys and jobs, but we still have to be home every night for dinner. As adolescents, we have a unique identity that still gives us structure, but in order to mature into successful adults, we must be make good decisions about the new freedoms we possess.

The Great Debate

Recently, I attended a congressional debate hosted at Glenbrook South High School between Robert Dold and Dan Seals. I heard about the debate in my social studies class, where our teacher strongly encouraged us to go for the sake of educating ourselves about our local politics and being involved in our historic democratic tradition (a.k.a. we would not be receiving any extra credit for attending). I decided to go because, like many of my classmates, I had never been to anything like it before. I’m not excessively interested in politics, but I’m beginning to see the importance of keeping up to date with current events.

The debate itself definitely exceeded my expectations. I prepared to be bored and confused, and happily, I was neither. Remarks were short and snappy, and clear enough that without any real prior knowledge of the candidates, I understood what was going on. I learned a lot about their views, but one of the things that struck me most was how catty and manipulative a professional political debate could be.

Immediately at the introductions, I noticed each candidate’s attempts to woo the audience, citing their accomplishments. I thought it was particularly amusing that Dold identified himself as a Boy Scout and Scoutmaster, titles which imply trustworthiness and loyalty, as well as a slew of other positive adjectives as laid down in the Boy Scout Law. Soon after the opening statements, while discussing tax cuts, Dold referenced the American Dream and nationalism, appealing to the feel-good patriotic side of potential voters. Not to be outdone, Seals followed by quoting Abraham Lincoln when talking about education and the No Child Left Behind Act. By appealing to emotion, I think both candidates were attempting to promote positive American and de mocratic associations with their campaigns, rather than the typical negative connotations associated with crooked Illinois politics.

Yet as the debate went on, it just got dirtier and dirtier. The candidates progressed from subtle barbs to full-blown attacks on each other, and needless to say, I found it to be quite interesting. I understood that it’s normal to try to undermine the opponent in a debate, but I never thought it would be so blatant. It was so interesting how their bickering and pointing out of each others flaws reminded me of typical high school cattiness.

While I was entertained, the debate left me unsure of my views. Between all the contradictions and generalizations, I (as well as many other teens) didn’t get a truthful experience. Maybe it just requires experiences and learning to read between the lines to determine what the candidates are really saying, and which one really means what he or she says. If I were able to vote in this election, I would definitely research more about the candidates and maybe even attend other political events.

As a 17-year-old, I am still too young to make my voice really heard by voting, but I do think it is important for teens to be involved in politics at some level. At the same time, we need to take care to not take everything at face value. It would be a terrible idea to form an unwavering stance from a biased Opportunities like local debates (publicized in schools) with class discussions and programs like Rock the Vote are great ways to involve teenagers and begin to involve us in the democratic system on which our nation is founded.

For adults, when did you first start paying attention to politics? How did you get involved, and how do you think this has changed for current generations?

For adolescents, are you involved? Why do you care? I’m still trying to find my way in this messy business, so I would love some guidance. Thanks!

(To read more about the what the debate covered and another teen's view, click here.)