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.