Teen-agers seem less rebellious these days.
Why, I don’t know.
Teen-agers also seem less materialistic than the kids of the 1980s and 90s that I had in my classrooms.
From what I see on the surface, I’d say youngsters are happy, pretty much in sync with their parents (except for the time-honored disputes over curfews and dating).
But if there is a darker side, it is apparent in worry.
They are skeptical, media-saturated, and uneasy that the American Dream is out of reach.
Talk to Rosella Elana Marquez of Albuquerque, NM and you’ll know what I mean.
She’s an A student in a Catholic high school, where she takes Advanced Placement English and Biology. She’s also taking classes at the University of New Mexico. During the summer, she works as a waitress at one of city’s popular Mexican restaurants.
I met Rosella purely by accident. She wasn’t even my waitress.
When she saw I was having difficulty with the menu, most of which was in her native Spanish, she strolled up to our table. “Try the green chili chicken soup,” she said.
I gazed up and saw one of the most beautiful young women in New Mexico. “I don’t like chicken soup,” I said, smiling.
“Try the green chili chicken soup,” she whispered again. This time she raised her right hand and made an OK sign with her fingers.
I repeated, “But I don’t care for chicken soup.”
Rosella smiled. “Try it, you won’t be disappointed, I promise. I eat it for breakfast.”
When my waiter returned, I told him to bring me a cup of the green chili chicken soup and an order of tacos. “Good choice,” he said.
When he brought the dish to our table, I reluctantly tasted the entree. Delicious.
I ate all the soup, leaving the tacos on the plate. I even used part of a tortilla to get the last bit of the soup from the porcelain bowl.
I realized why the green chili chicken soup was such a local favorite.
When I saw Rosella rushing past our table, I asked her to stop for a moment. She obliged and we had a nice chat. She told me about her school, about her family, about her friends, about her hopes and dreams.
We discussed the electronic bombardment of teen-agers with iPhones, iPads, video games, television, radio, and computers.
The overload of information in society; the heightened worries of the new generation; the feelings of insignificance in schools.
Rosella said she believes strongly in the American Dream, but that it is getting harder and harder to achieve.
She said teen-agers spend too much time watching TV and listening to music, not enough time reading novels and poetry.
Rosella said some of her friends spend less than one hour a day on homework but might spend six- or seven-hours watching TV.
Drugs and alcohol?
“Everywhere,” Rosella said bluntly. “But my friends know that I don’t use them, and if they bring them out at a party, I get up and leave.”
Rosella wants to be happy.
She’s working hard to achieve her goals in school and in the workplace.
The lovely, petite Latino said she got tired of the same old thing in public schools, so she opted to attend a Catholic school, one that strives for excellence and achievement in all phases of education.
“Many of the kids in the public schools are not there to learn,” she said. “They are wasting their energies and the teacher’s. They are just there to beat in time.”
According to Rosella, the worst problem facing her generation is crime, followed by the decline of moral and social values. Next come overpopulation and environmental issues.
Rosella does not believe in her government. She thinks corruption and dishonesty are widespread among politicians, especially in their personal lives. “They are only interested in what they can get out of it.”
Rosella noted that she is of Spanish and Cuban descent. She lives with her grandmother and helps take care of the aging family matriarch. She makes satisfactory wages at her night-time job as a waitress.
Would she consider leaving her home and traveling with us to West Virginia and the mountains and the cool summers?
“I would love it,” Rosella said emphatically. “I would go just to see what it is like. It seems so different with green mountains and waterfalls and so very far away. But I have my family and my obligations here. I would miss my friends, too. They care about me.’’
She allowed, however: “It’s tempting. I hope you have a safe trip home. And if you come back this way again, don’t forget to order…the green chili chicken soup…”
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Top o’ the morning!
(Editor’s note: Rosella Elana Marquez of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has a firm grip on reality. The teen-ager is working hard, both in school and in the workplace, to achieve the American Dream. Rosella worries, though, that the American Dream is receding in the eyes of young people, that it is getting harder to achieve. She believes strongly in friends and family and would love to see the Mountain State.)