Stockbridge Jr./Sr. High School hosts six grades in total, with roughly a hundred students in each grade. These kids range in shape and size, interests and hobbies, goals and needs. But one common trait stays the same- whether you’re twelve or eighteen: the desire to be treated like adults.

But what have you done to be treated like an adult in this school? Everyone says that they would want to be treated seriously, and taken as an adult. But most children aren’t ready for any sort of adult responsibility, especially with the way most act. 

Most people would say that being an adult consists of following rules and being productive in society. Yet most adolescents won’t follow rules that are set for them. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2019, about 24.6 percent of 14- to 15-year-olds reported having at least 1 drink. 825,000 young people also reported binge drinking on 5 or more days over the past month. 

Part of being an adult is following rules in society. Drinking under the age of 21 is certainly not following rules, is it? If you want to be an adult, you follow rules, and these are your rules to follow, aren’t they? If you can’t be trusted following the rules given now, why should you be given adult rules to follow?

Drinking laws are not the only rule that young people have in place. Another strict rule we have is smoking or vaping! That’s a big one that teens like to break! According to the FDA, 38.9% of high school students use E-cigs frequently, and 22.5% use them daily. During the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers fell due to teens being at home. What gives? It’s almost like teens vape more while at school.

If you vape more at school due to having access to vape easier, that’s on you and your bad decisions. If you can’t go more than eight hours without having your bubblegum-flavored, lung rotting, nicotine-addiction tool at your fingertips, you need to stop. You’re harming yourself and expecting it to be cool and quirky. It’s not.

Teens want to be treated like adults, yet refuse to grow up. They try to hold adult responsibilities and do adult things, yet fail again and again. It is alright to fail, but doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome? That’s what bugs do, with hitting a window over and over and over. Students have a responsibility: school! School is the closest thing that students have to a job, yet they slack off and play dumb.

Did you know that  25% of students taking an English class between 3 grades were failing in our school? Other classes aren’t much better, with 5% failing Spanish 1. According to U.S. News, Stockbridge’s graduation rate is 82%. That means that if you put 100 of your classmates in a room, 18 of them will not graduate.

This whine, this dreadful drone for adult-ness isn’t there on the student’s side. Students need to stop pointing fingers. This constant outcry for being treated like an adult is unmatched by the effort students are putting in. If you want to be treated like an adult, act like one.

Grow up.