Teenagers wonder why adults don't respect their opinions?

Tonight Kent, Braxton, and I rode trax down to the Gateway Mall. It was a great night to just get out and enjoy each other. It's been a while and I am glad to have time with my husband and son. The most interesting part of our evening was on the way home. Tonight there was a Bee's (baseball) game and a large group of kids hopped on trax on their way back from the game. I am always drawn to watching youth because of their energy and enjoyment of life. As this group got on I smiled because of the enjoyment they were having being together. As I continued watching I was a little saddened. There were about six or seven girls in the group. Of these there were about three girls who were actually sufficently covered. Then as they were checking for tickets two young men in the group had to exit the train because they hadn't purchased tickets.

This experience made me recall a statement made (don't know the source sorry) about how teenagers today are frusterated because adults don't respect their opinions. I wanted to take these girls and tell them how beautiful they were and how they didn't need to show off their bodies. I also wanted to take these boys and discuss with them the importance of responsibility and preparedness.

I want so much to show these kids how they look to the adults in this world. I told Kent that I want our kids to know how many kids give adults reason to not respect the youth in this world. Then I want them to know how to be an outstanding youth who is such that adults can only respect them for the people they are and the choices they make. I really want them to learn who they are and how important they are. I want them to know the impact they can make in this world. I am so grateful for my testimony of the gospel that helps me know what standards to live by so that I don't have to take on the additudes on the world. I am also grateful to have a husband who lives those standards so that our children will have two examples of the standards to live by.

In closing I'd like to leave you with two quotes.

How strange that the young should always think the world is against them - when in fact that is the only time it is for them. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably not so sure themselves. ~Virginia Satir, The New Peoplemaking, 1988