I came across this picture from a friend who shared this on Facebook. I found it to be very apt, and amazingly it still applies to teenagers today despite the fact that it was written 55 years ago, way back in the year 1959.
If you happen to know a teenager who can’t stop whining about his/her life, perhaps you might want to tell them this:
Go home, mow the lawn, lash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you’ve finished, read a book.
Your town dows not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. The world does not owe you a living; you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent, so that no one will be at war, in sickness and lonely again.
In other words, grow up, stop being a crybaby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now, and that somebody is you!
John Tapane, Principal, Northland College
