To say the least, teenagers are a surreal breed of human.
They've just escaped the earlier stages of childhood, but haven't quite reached that point of maturity that ensures them the status of an adult.
Because of this, we're all really trying to take part in events that make us seem mature, but really still contain our freedom and security as children.
Some of us are family-oriented, and some of us are more independent than our parents know.
But, we all have one thing in common: our income is limited, or in most cases, non-existent.
To a teenager, money can mean several things.
For some, money is a symbol of power.
Everyone has a role model, and the majority of teenage role models are famous celebrities, or at least someone who has established a status in this world.
Either way, most of these people have watched their income explode.
Teenagers connect the point that the caliber their role models have achieved has produced money, and said money was obtained through grasping some sort of power, like writing a book or a song.
Therefore, teenagers connect the point: money equals power.
This is where you find the building blocks of today's social system in high schools. People with money are generally the people looked at as having the most power. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's true.
These are the teens whose lives have nothing to do with money, because they already have it.
Nonetheless, for most teens, this isn't the case. Some, like myself, work two jobs to make ends meet.
Of course, we work for money so we can hang out with friends without asking our parents for gobs of cash, but the stark reality is that teens are working harder than ever nowadays to pay for college.
An education isn't cheap, and never has been. With most tuitions close to, at minimum, $30,000, it's hard to even fathom how much work would be involved in saving up that much money. But, we work for it, as much as we can, and hope that financial aid helps us out the rest of the way through.
A friend of mine recently made $5,000, working just about four months, which I found, and still find, phenomenal. I congratulated him on his income, but he said it was bittersweet, really. He said he had given up on his friends, basically, and had eliminated any family time, because of his hectic work schedule. It may seem immature to most adults, but one's social status, as a teenager, is one of the single, most-important aspects of one's existence. The ridiculous part is that a good chunk of people don't grow out of this stage, and for good reason _ connections can get you anywhere.
This brings us back to the variable of power for a teenager. In high school, connections can bring one the power he desires _ that power that can, literally, be bought. And with that power, it seems like one can do anything. Spread a rumor, ruin someone's life, lead someone on, break someone's heart _ all things one can easily do with power. Adults _ this sounds all too familiar, right?
It's my distinct belief that a teenager with a job, really is an adult _ just with a security blanket. Parents provide a sense of protection, while teens work through what life is really like. Bills, personality conflicts, hating your job, losing touch with friends _ all parts of life that people go through when they become almost too busy for themselves. Teenagers are hanging clothes, flipping burgers, laboring endlessly in a constant effort to better themselves, their futures and their realities, whether said realities be good, or knowingly bad. Either way, we're all looking ahead to a new hope that someday we will succeed not only as an individual, but as a movement.
Dan Clark is a senior at Afton Central School.
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