I don’t remember when I exactly realized this, but sometime when I turned 13, I had an epiphany that being a teenager isn’t really that different from being a kid. For some reason, I have this tiny piece of hope that there might be changes when I turn 16. Let’s see.
Anyway, I learned that it pretty much sucks to be a teenager when you live in Philadelphia.
Why you ask? According to several news publications, teens in Philadelphia now have to adhere to a curfew of 9pm on Friday and Saturday night. That sucks. It’s apparently supposed to help decrease the riots and violence caused by teens in the city.
Reading this, I wondered how the teens who didn’t contribute to the violence were being affected, and I thought about my school. No, there aren’t riots or curfews in my school.
But, I do know how it feels to be punished constantly for things other people do, because it’s more “convenient” to punish everyone. I’ve had to deal with this for almost 6 years.
As I thought about it, I wondered if there is another way? Why does everyone have to be punished? Then, I realized the youth needs a representative, or someone that could speak for them, like a class president. Maybe then, the kids in Philadelphia won’t resort to violence.