It's Never Enough

What is the one thing that all of us, if we were honest, want more of?

Dough. Bank. Green. Bread. Cash.

Money.

Everyone wants more money. From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor, no matter your age, race, gender, or religion, you want more money. Even your parents want you to have more money. Because money makes things happen. The only problem is...

You have to earn it. And that means taking a job.

And that's a great thing. My job is one of the greatest aspects of my life. Sure it can be a drag, but hey, I'm making bank!

Except... I'm not. Because quite frankly, money breeds more problems than it fixes.

An example: I make roughly 450 bucks a month, and I work about 15-20 hours a week. When I first got my job, I was ecstatic because I was loaded! I ate out all the time. I was ready to go for a night out with the crew. I was ready to take a young lady out to dinner.  Except I didn't have a car at the time, so I could do whatever I wanted...

As long as my Mom could get me there.

So, I got my license and my Dad lent me an old car.

Now, I spend all my money filling up for gas, so I can run errands for my Mom, drive my sister to work, and occasionally I get to go to the movies with the crew.. Also, I am now trying to save money so I can get a better car, so I can save on gas so I can keep more of my money.

Did I lose you there?

My overall point is simple: Money isn't always the answer. Money isn't happiness. In fact, money is really just a means to an end. The solution to troubles is to find the best end. And work for it.

You want to buy clothes? You want to have a car? You want to take that girl out?

Work for it. Yeah, a job is hard to come by and can be frustrating. But you will learn something about life. And lots of other things. So hang tight.

Meanwhile I will just be paying back my Mom the $130 bucks I owe her for my new car battery.

Studying, Notice “Dying” at the End!

One of the most common struggles any teen will have in school is studying. Lots of teens, including me, struggle with it. Throughout the first term of the school year, I have struggled in a few subjects such as English, history, and science. After a while I got really tired of the grades I was getting. I talked to my parents about it, (Yeah, I was THAT desperate!) They came up with a solution: compose a schedule of my week and write in all of my classes for it. Then they said to set aside one hour for each subject that I struggled in, and study the text book. So I read it one paragraph at a time, and summarized what each paragraph said in one sentence. Then I read it through one more time normally. 

After a week, I noticed a significant difference in my grades. In my classes I realized that I understood more of what the teacher was talking about. It took away a bit of my free time, but it was well worth it to see my grades change dramatically.

If you try it, please tell me how it went. Or maybe you could leave other suggestions for the other people reading.

Thanks,

Randy L. Martin

Parents: The Never Ending Battle... Or Is It?

Lets face it - parents can be a drag.

I mean yeah you love 'em, but so often it seems like they just don't get that you're not twelve years old anymore. You've changed since then. You've grown up. In fact, some of you may even look more "grown up" than your parents. Maybe one of your parents was never really there for you. Or maybe you have awesome parents, but you still feel like an isolated little kid. But no matter what the case, one thing is clearly true-

Whether you like it or not, your parents are basically in charge of you. And sometimes that sucks.

Yes, they do pay for everything, and they have taken care of you for your entire life, but do they have to run your life as well? Do they have to always be looking over your shoulder, making sure you don't screw up? Everybody makes mistakes sometimes, but why is it they only freak out when you make the mistake? You don't yell at them when they screw their lives up. But time after time, they go to ridiculous measures to make sure you're still breathing. And we all ask the same question: WHY?

The Answer: BECAUSE YOUR PARENTS LOVE YOU.

Yeah. That's why.

I didn't get this til I was 17. I was soon to be getting my driver's licence, and out of nowhere I get a call from my Dad. Some kid who worked for him on the farm, about 16, was hit and killed by a drunk driver. I had met him a couple of times, and worked with him. I was a little shaken up. Next time I saw my Dad, he hugged me, and even cried. Now, my Dad almost never cries. The man has way too much pride for that. In fact, it always seems like my Dad tries to avoid the actual "parenting" part of parenting (my parents are divorced, you see). But hearing about a kid my age getting killed shook even him to the core. Because they don't want that to be us. They've lived a lot more life than us. They've seen kids our age drink, overdose, commit suicide, get pregnant, go through break ups, fail midterms, have mental breakdowns, got to prison, never graduate, get depression, lose friendships, have their dreams crushed before their eyes, and even go off to war and die for their country. And, quite selfishly, they don't want to have to watch your casket be placed in a hole and be covered with dirt.

So really all I can say is this- love and respect your parents. No, they are not always right, and yes, they do make many mistakes. But that last thing you want to do is ruin the longest relationship you've had with another human being over something stupid. Because it's a lot harder to build that back up. In fact, you may never build it back up.

And if the relationship is already bad, don't do anything to make it worse. Your parents are who they are whether or not that's good or bad. You can't change them, but you don't have to make the same mistakes. 

So muscle through, no matter what. The best of life comes after you graduate anyways.
-JD

Welcome to Teen Issues Without Tissues!

We are a group of nine teens writing a blog for a literature project. Teen Issues Without Tissues is about problems and solutions we have encountered in our daily lives, in an effort to help our readers solve some of these issues.

Here are our contributors:

Randy L. Martin,

Randy L. Martin loves many things. He plays the guitar and sketches in his free time. He belongs to an after school program called the Civil Air Patrol, an Air Force program for teens and adults. He loves hanging out with friends. When he becomes an adult he wants to fulfil his dream and become a pilot and own his plane.

Jag,

Jag has a chicken farm of about 80 chickens, and is an avid gardener.

NotKate,

NotKate loves a good book. The Tale of Despereaux is probably her favorite. She writes for a school newspaper and enjoys singing in her choir. Tied for first place for NotKate's favorite ice cream flavors are mint chocolate chip and cookie dough. NotKate recently made an intercontinental move, but she is still adjusting to it. Luckily she can travel often by opening a good book. Her advice for if you ever have a cold is: drink at least a dozen cups of earl grey tea a day.

Jaz,

JD,

At 18, JD is the oldest of our authors and will be graduating high school in June of 2014. He enjoys all things geek, from Marvel and DC superhero movies to science fiction TV shows such as Revolution. His hobbies include moviegoing, writing, blogging, ultimate frisbee, and shooting. He is a certified lifeguard and former Jr. 4-H shooting instructor. But above all that he loves to just chill with his close friends who know him best, and help others reach their goals.

PlaidG,

PlaidG raises sheep along with many other farm animals. She likes food, animals, spring time, and country music.

John Carter,

John Carter is from Little Rock, Arkansas. He has three sisters, their names are Annabell, Helen, and Bethany. He likes video games, Mountain Dew, and energy drinks. Finally, he likes solving everyone's problems but his own.

Akila,

Akila is a sophomore in high school. She enjoys watching sci-fi, especially Star Trek and Doctor Who. She is in a debate club, and also enjoys theatre, playing the ukulele, singing, and making crafts. Last Summer she went to Uganda, and ever since then she has had a huge desire to travel the world and experience different cultures.

J. E. Martin

J. E. Martin enjoys many activities such as watching Star Trek with his family, and Doctor Who with his sister. He is an advanced varsity debater, and delights in invoking intellectual thoughts in himself and discussions with others. He has a very dry sense of humor mixed with a little bit of sarcasm, like a witty potato chip. His hobbies include playing video games, learning many languages, and playing guitar and piano.

Em&Em

In Em&Em's free time, she often enjoys reading and watching her favorite television shows. She also likes hanging with her friends.