Teenage Stereo Types Essay, Research Paper

Today there are more stereotypes then ever before. Black and white stereotypes, men and women stereotypes, ethnic stereotypes and adolescent stereotypes. People see one thing done by a certain group and automatically assume that every person belonging to that group does the same thing. I am not really sure how truthful that is, especially being a teenager. There are so many stereotypes against us. These include that teenagers cause trouble, are corrupting society, drink too much, smoke too much, don’t respect people, and that we are lazy.

That last one is the one that gets to me. It is true however. Many teenagers are very lazy. I have friends who are nineteen and yet have never worked a day in their life. They are extremely lazy. Their parents keeping giving them money and they keep taking it. I do not see them working till they are at least out of college. Even then they might just move back in with their parents. That is why this stereotype exists. This picture is what everyone sees as the typical teen. A kid sitting at home watching t.v., playing video games, and being lazy

This stereotype just does not fit for me though. I may fit into the other ones but not this one. Well maybe as a kid, but not sense becoming a teenager. While growing up I have always been doing something. In middle school I played sports to pass the time. I played football, basketball, and ran track. Sports usually took up about two and a half hours a night. That left just enough time to do homework. Still however many older people thought that sports where just for fun and that a kid was lazy if he or she wasn’t working no matter what age. So over the summers I worked as a plumbers assistant. I ran tools and cut pipe. It was little but it was a job and it kept me busy. Then high school started. This alone was enough to keep me from being lazy. The sports practices got longer and the homework tougher. That left me with even less time at night. Then came the age of freedom. The driving age of sixteen. I immediately got my permit and with that I wanted a car to go along with it. They don’t come free however. My parents were not buying my sob stories either. So it was time to get a part time job. I decided to not go out for track that year and go job hunting instead. I found a job as a bus boy at a local restaurant. I could work there on the weekends and still go to school during the week. This kept me very busy. It did let me get a car though. Now I had to pay car insurance. So this meant I had to work even more. By the end of high school I was on my second car and had a lot of extra money. It felt good to work for the things I wanted.

It was time to go to college. I thought I would actually be able to be lazy. I was wrong, it only got worse. Not only did I still have to get a job, I had to worry about studying more and basketball would now take all of my time. I moved into an apartment. This was the worst thing I could do. Now I had to grocery shop, due bills, and keep it clean. Now I had no chance to be lazy even if I wanted too. I got up at 5:45 a.m. every day for work. I worked for two hours then came home. I would then go back to bed for an hour or so. When the alarm went off for the second time that day it was time to get ready for school. I preceded to school. After a day at school I would then go to practice. Here I would spend two grueling hours in the gym. I would drag myself home and finally have a little time to study then relax. This relaxing time was my only free time of the day. It might have been short but very relaxing. Maybe that could be considered lazy but I doubt it, not after a day like that. I guess it would depend on who is doing the judging.

I wonder what kind of people say that teenagers are lazy? I bet they say these things based on a kid they know. I think they might even be closer to that kid then just knowing them. They are the ones parenting those kids and probably the ones spoiling them too. Or maybe it is just that they where that lazy kid while growing up?