Hey teenagers, what do you do for fun in your community?! I bet you had to take a second or two to think about that didn’t you? A lot of young adults between the age of 14 and 18 get bored with life and resort to drugs and alcohol. I believe if they were able to do something that was fun in replacement of the substances than there would be less crime in juveniles. If we had things to do like go to an underage teen dancing club, go to the movies, or even volunteer at a community center, then maybe crime would go down.

I have been to an underage dancing club in Pittsburg and I have the time of my life. You get searched before you go in and you are not allowed to have any illegal substances. You just dance and have a good time with your friends. Even if you don’t get enjoyment out of dancing you can still just hang out and socialize while your friends dance. I know when you hear the word “club” you think bad things like alcohol and partying but you have to take into consideration that it is for young adults rather than adults. When I first went to the club that I went to, I was surprised at how many people actually went to this place. It was amazing how much teenagers actually like to dance or just hangout and listen to loud music.

When I was younger, about 11 or 12 years old, I remember going to the movies every weekend. Now, I along with a lot of others cannot afford it. The movie prices everywhere have gone up drastically and a lot of teenagers do not have the money to spend on a movie. I believe it would be a good idea to have a free movie played some place in the summer that you can just go to and watch. Possibly something like a drive in or even just a “walk in”. I know a lot of my friends would like it if we could grab a blanket, some chips, and pop and head down the street to watch a movie on a Friday night.

It might sound really boring to volunteer at a community center, right? Well you might be right but you might also be wrong. If you are planning to volunteer then you need to volunteer in something that you find fun. I think that our community should have a little carnival to earn money that the teens in the community could volunteer at. Even if it isn’t that you could find something else you like to do. For instance I like to work with kids, so I could go to my neighborhood child care center and ask if than need any help with the kids. I could also see if there are any summer camps going on around that need help. There are many different ways to volunteer; you just need to explore your horizons.

Juvenile crime will go down once young adults have a change in heart. They will stop using drugs and abusing alcohol only if they want to. That’s why I am here. I am hoping that words from a teen to a teen will help them understand that there are other ways to have fun that aren’t “boring”. If we can have other young adults than just me that believe there should be something put in our area than hopefully we will see change. I really so believe that doing something like this will help crime go down, you just have to try. You may like it and you may not, but like I said before it would hurt to explore your horizons, so give it a try!

Duties & Responsibilities

There is a great difference between a duty and a responsibility. A duty is something that you have to do. If you do not fulfill your duty there will be consequences. These consequences could vary from paying a small fine to spending time in jail. A responsibility is something you chose to do rather than are forced to do.

Some duties I have are to attend school, obey the law, and appear in court when I'm told to. America wants its people to have an education. You cannot achieve an education without attending school. You should at least complete up until your 12th grade year. After high school, you have the right to choose to attend college or not. When I walk out of my house every morning, I have a duty to obey the law. There are a lot of laws that you must follow in your everyday schedule. For example you must go the speed limit. If you are not aware of the law you have broken, 9 times out of 10, you still get fined. When I receive a letter with my court date on it, I must follow what instructions given. For instance if the letter tells me to be at Ohio County Court House at 11:30am on January 24th, I must be there unless physically impossible. If I chose to not show, I would most likely have a different outcome when leaving the court room.

Everyone has a good share of responsibilities. Some responsibilities I have are to respect the rights of others and to stay informed about current events and the government. I pay attention to people’s rights, especially my own, because they may be being violated. People get very angry when their rights are violated. Therefore, I try my very best to respect them. I also try to stay informed about what all is going on in my area. I like to know if things are going to change or even if someone I know has died. Most important I don't feel safe if I don't know who is running the state and city. So, especially during elections I stay very updated on what’s going on around me.