When I finished this article, I had one thought in my mind: what a sadistic parent! Though I agree with the principal of what the mom did, she took what could have been an educational experience and went way, way too far. Though the son was not of the drinking age, he was a legal adult, and therefore deserves to be treated like one. By taking the drastic measure of actually selling her son’s car without his permission (with a catty, superior-sounding ad), she does nothing but alienate her son further. Had I been that kid, I would have been so furious that I probably would have started drinking more – just to spite her! It seems like the mother cared more about doing something dramatic for her own selfish fulfillment than she did about teaching her son responsibility.
Had I been that mother, I would have held off on my anger and confronted my son instead. I would first ask him if the alcohol was actually his and give him a chance to confess, then repeat the dangers of drinking underage (especially while driving). After he knew that he had been caught, I would propose a strict, but rational punishment. He would definitely have his car taken away for at least a month or two, but I would also have him do some community service where he could do something like talk to kids about underage drinking. By having him own up to his problem, he would know he had no one to blame but himself. The mother who sold her son’s car without warning didn’t realize that he probably doesn’t feel remorse at all: he’s just very, very angry at his mom and her ridiculous decision.
Haha, wordpress is complicated…but that cheerful “hello world!” was really starting to annoy me, so I’m glad I got this down.
Anyway.
Junior year is said to be a pivotal year in high school, so I want to discipline myself and improve in a few ways. First – and I know everyone says this – I want to get straight As, or at least a high GPA. This will be very difficult, but I know that good grades are important for college. My main problem is that I’m a terrible, terrible procrastinator, so I think I’ll be able to do better by managing my time.
Second, I’d love to push myself in my art more. Drawing is my favourite thing to do, so I want to take advantage of this year to improve in figure drawing and painting. I may not study art in college (although I’d really like to), but I still want to get as good as I can. In particular, I want to try painting, something that has always looked like a lot of fun, but I haven’t done a lot of. Improving in art is harder to define than a higher GPA, but it’s just as important to me.
Finally, I want to try something completely new this year. One of my ideas is to learn Italian. It’s one of the prettiest languages out there, in my opinion, and I’ve forgotten most of what I knew as a kid. By learning Italian, I could open oppurtunities to travel and maybe even live there again. Another new thing I might do is trying out for a school play. A lot of my friends do plays, and they’ve always looked like a lot of fun to me. It’s a bit of a risk, since I’ve never tried it before, but it might turn out well in the end.
I’m looking forward to Junior year being fun, interesting, and full of personal growth! (more…)
