Thoughts on Gap Years and Amish People

Gap years seem like they could be a good choice for many high school graduates. They give students a chance to go out into the world and decide who they want to be in college and beyond. I thought it was interesting that some colleges promote gap year, since there is a possiblity that the students will land a job they really enjoy and decide not to go to college. Giving teenagers a year off makes more sense for the Amish. Their rumspringa is kind of a rigged experiment. The Amish teens who go through rumspringa likely don't know how to fend for themselves after living a life of simplicity. Eventually they will become homesick and come back, not knowing how to take care of themselves. The Amish life is the only life they had known, so it's highly unlikely they would abandon their Amishness and choose freedom over security.

MTV: Altering the Shows?

Does MTV alter the conflicts between people in their shows? No one knows except for the channels who run the shows and the people in the shows, but I'm pretty sure they do. In the shows involving pregnant teens and their families, the shows often focus on the teens screaming at and arguing with their parents. It's hard to imagine parents and teens yelling as much as they appear to be doing in the shows, making it seem like MTV is blowing the situation out of proportion. They should realize that it's wrong to be interfering with their clients in order to produce better television.

Reacting to "Twisted"

The book "Twisted" did not live up to my expectations. It is told from the viewpoint of a self-professed loser named Tyler Miller who has a bad relationship with his father and a poor reputation in school after spray-painting graffiti on the school. He does seem like a decent guy from what I could tell, but his character didn't really interest me.

Tyler has a crush on Bethany Milbury, the sister of Tyler's tormenter Chip. Once again, two not very interesting characters. The "twist" advertised on the back of the novel involved nude photos being taken of a wasted Bethany, which Tyler was accused of doing. Tyler is sent further into the kingdom of loserdom because of this event, and his father threatens to send Tyler to military school regardless of whether he is found guilty or not. Tyler contemplates commiting suicide and/or running away, neither of which he ends up doing. Eventually he is proved innocent and reaches an understanding with his father, hopefully leading to an improved relationship.

The plot of this story wasn't exactly straightforward, but the mild surprises included in the story didn't make it interesting. The characters were bland, except maybe for the father (and only because he yelled at Tyler all the time). At least Tyler was the epitome of angstiness, since he seemed to have conflicts with everyone he knew.

Teens Deserve More Respect

When adults reminisce about being a teen, they remember the so-called good ol' days when they didn't have a care in the world. Then they are brought back to the present, and realize that life had, at some point, took a turn for the worse. This thought process, which I'm sure nearly every adult has experienced, has created the notion that if you're not spending your summer in a factory, you will not be prepared for life as an adult. Adults are under the impression that kids today are lazy and unwilling to do work, something that they will have to eventually realize is completley untrue.

Frankly, my parents believe that I still haven't been exposed to "the real world" because I act like everything is "all fun and games." (quotes directly from my parents, actually) In fact, I'm fairly certain that if it was their choice, every moment in my life would be spent doing homework, working the cashier at a Safeway, or going on mission trips to Guatemala. I say this not to question the value of these expriences, but to point out that insane amounts of work aren't necessary to expose teens to "the real world." One mission trip a year, perhaps, unless you truly enjoy the work that you do.

Most teens are probably aware what the "real world" is like. No, we haven't gotten a real job or bought a house yet, but when we do, I am confident we'll be able to handle it just as well or better than our parents did. If only our parents thought the same way.

Angstiness Profile: Alaska Young

Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the last angstiness profile, I have decided to do a much-delayed post on the mentally unstable Alaska Young. Although we have finished the book and Alaska is long gone, she is still the most intriguing character in the entire story. Did she kill herself? Was it an accident? If she did kill herself, what exactly made her want to? These are only a few of the questions that remain unanswered, but for the purposes of this post, here's what we do know about her: Her mother died when she was a little girl. She was too young to know how to save her, but she still felt guilty about it as she grew older. She is a heavy smoker, and takes it upon herself to introduce Pudge to the things he had missed during his protected childhood. She is intelligent, funny, dark, twisted, and unpredictable to say the least. But is she angsty? I believe so.

Angstiness Rating (1-5): 4, maybe even a 5

Teens and Drinking

It's no secret that teens have been increasingly more exposed to drinking over the past decade or so. Commercials are probably the biggest source of the increased exposure. Beer commercials in particular portray the supposed benefits of alcohol, which include meeting beautiful women on sunny Caribbean beaches. These commercials give teens the wrong ideas about drinking and may eventually set an addiction into motion. No one doubts the fact that drinking is unhealthy, yet many teens still choose to drink, thanks to peer pressure and the sunny Caribbean beaches.

Into the Future

Teens often have a different idea of what they want to become than what their parents want them to become. Parents always want their children to be rich and successful, but the ways they assist their child varies from parent to parent. A lot of parents, at least in "Crazy Town" (nickname for Arlington, credited to Dave Soles) are convinced that every teen needs to take at least six AP courses, work five part-time jobs, and go on mission trips to Indonesia in order to be successful, when that is not the case. Doing all of those things may help you get into a good college, but getting into a good college doesn't mean you'll be successful. Conversely, going to a so-called average college doesn't mean you will spend the rest of your life in a trailer park. Granted, there are plenty of outstanding students that think this way, but they may only think this way because it is how their parents have taught them to think.

In summary, getting into a good college doesn't guarantee success. Although it certainly helps, it puts a lot of undue pressure on teens that still have a chance to be successful without getting into an elite college.

Too Much Pressure

Teenagers are constantly surrounded by pressure- pressure from parents, pressure from peers, pressure from teachers. This pressure can be either positive or negative, depending on the teen. A special few use the pressure as motivation and work even harder. However, most teens react poorly to this pressure, and start thinking "I have to study for 37 straight hours if I want to pass this test" instead of "I just have to study until I feel like I understand the material." One of the keys to being successful in high school is ignoring the pressure and just doing the best you can, something a lot of teens forget about.

Angstiness Profile: Pudge Halter

How angsty is Miles "Pudge" Halter? Well, not very. A loner before coming to Culver Creek, he has a knack for knowing peoples' last words although his talent doesn't really make him angsty. The fact that "Looking for Alaska" is told through Pudge, who is a fairly uninteresting character, makes his fellow classmates look even more angsty. (Alaska, the Colonel, etc." Pudge comes to Culver Creek searching for adventure, which he was deprived of at home with his parents, and his protected childhood does not translate well into future teen angst.

Angstiness Rating (1-5): 1

Thoughts on the Colonel

The Colonel seemed like a jerk when we were first introduced to him at the beginning of the novel, if for no other reason than because he gave himself an unusual nickname. However, as the story progresses we get to know him better. His relationship with his girlfriend shows that he is not worried about the way people may judge him based on his actions. At the basketball game, the Colonel is confirmed to be certifiably insane thanks to his impressive streak of getting kicked out of games. The Colonel is an interesting contrast to the generally mild-mannered Pudge, which makes him all the more entertaining to read about.