Solution

Today, we have a national epidemic that is slowly, if at all, being realized. It seems as if the youth of today's culture lacks positive direction and influence. If you fail to recognize what I'm talking about, go pick up a DVD copy of "Thirteen," go to the Spree, or just take a look at any middle school around town. There are many paths in which today's generation can travel in order to find it's way out of this mess. There's the passive way; let the government deal with it by imposing new programs that flop, focusing on the inner city kids, doing little to reach outside the inner city walls to the congealed suburbanite teens who are left to solve their problems with their friends and their TV sets. Where is the positive influence here? In the television network that teaches good moral behavior and how to prepare for the fastball that society will soon throw their way? As far as I know, this network doesn't exist. And if it does, nobody watches it except teachers.

Why? Because it's not cool to get help, it's not cool to be in need of someone else. Cool to teens is what they see on MTV and what their friends are wearing and doing. Well, anyone who isn't oblivious to the rotating world would notice two key elements to connect with today's youth:

the idea of cool
and the media.

Now, it is clear that the government has caught on to these concepts with the coming of the oh so famous anti-drug campaigns depicting kids hanging out and just "saying no." The problem is, it's not a reality. "Who cares about this kid who doesn't want a joint. I don't know him, he's probably a loser." Even myself, being a drug free individual, watch these commercials thinking "give me a break." Significant change does not come from one TV commercial, or even a series of TV commercial. It's going to have to dig deeper to achieve a real noticeable change. From this point we have another set of options.

One option would be to restructure our entire TV network, filter out all bad content and start a brigade of anti-bad behavior campaigns to steer kids in the right direction. This is absurd for numerous reasons and I trust you all to have the knowledge to derive your own reasons as to why. Another conclusion would be to add more educative programming to our television sets, which has been the obvious course of unproductive action taken so far. Why does everyone have to think so two dimensionally, so coplanar. Maybe, if we took the change off the screen and into the community where a whole volume of difference can occur, something positive might actually begin to surface in this fragile culture of our youth. How much longer will the constituents of this great nation, this great state, this great community take a passenger seat in the outcome of today's youth? It's time someone takes note of the declining state of today's young civilization, and takes action to actually make a difference.

I realize that this is a very critical point in all of our lives. We're in college, learning all the skills we need to operate in the real world and do what we love. This is where we decide where our lives will lead. Will you be a risk taker, or just go with the flow? Are you going to take charge and decide where your life leads, or are you going to take the passive role and work for the corporate machine? When you pass away, is a nation going to look back and say, "Wow, he really made a difference," or will your seize of existence shake only the family tree from which you fell? As corny as every high-school career councilor made it sound, it's true; the choice is yours, and yours alone.

As a high-school student growing up in the typical suburban setting of Livonia Michigan, I was faced with a problem ever so popular in the suburbs; boredom. Lack of entertaining activities aimed toward the suburban teenager. "Something is clearly missing; I've seen the same movie 5 times and been to the mall 6 times this week, isn't there anything else to do?" The sad fact is that there isn't anything else to do. Aside from the typical bowling, putt-putt, mall venture that is suburban entertainment, there is very little to do for teenagers in the suburb. This in turn creates a severe lack of community. Often, teens sit in their rooms, bored to death, developing social problems that won't be addressed till there 35 working at Wal-Mart speaking to the corporate psychiatrist about what makes them depressed. Is this acceptable? Is this what our society is beginning to amount to? Now the issue at hand becomes:

How to create a suitable environment for the current teen society. Well, what if there was a place where teens could go and hangout with other students, get homework help, and participate in organized activities? Easy, you'd have an empty building stocked with elder volunteers wondering why nobody is coming to their "community out reach center" and when the next rerun of M.A.S.H is on. A logical conclusion to draw here is that community centers aren't cool. Giant one story buildings lined with off white cinder block and the same tile you saw in your Uncle Stu's basement is not today's idea of cool. This is not a suitable atmosphere for kids to hangout, this is a retirement home with a lame ass "twist." So the idea is starting to form, starting to head down the right tracks. We've trenched beyond the borders of TV but we are stuck by the fence which is the idea of cool. So what's cool today? Sports. Cars. Coffee Shops. Clothing. Music. Eureka! Here are 5 perfectly legitimate subject which are associated with both teenagers and the idea of cool! So now all we have to do is find a way to combine all of these with a sense of community. The resultant of this complex sociological triangle:

A retail store with the coolest clothes which has an after school coffee shop, great for studying with friends in, with a knowledgeable staff able to assist in difficult problems (breath) which all turns into a band venue after 9 on weekends and holds a multitude of activities such as car shows and outdoor parties. Perfecto! A community center disguised with all the things considered cool by today's youth. Now you say, it's impossible, like putting a Starbucks in a Barnes and Nobl....hey wait a minute!!! There is no reason all these great idea can't be collaborated to form a positive center for today's youth. Not only will it be personally profitable, but also the community will benefit. The possibilities are endless. Imagine a large warehouse type building with a real lofty feeling, clothing racks a stage, a coffee shop, well lit, plasma TV's. Just think about all the options, how much potential there is to be unlocked. One store can lead to a nationwide spread; each location being unique to it's environment. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.