It's your choice. What's it gonna be?

I’m not usually one who likes to make speculations about certain issues pertaining to society in general and certain people specifically but sometimes.. I just can’t help myself. Recently, I’ve encountered a plethora of teenagers in a variety of environments, whether it is at a high school, at work or around town. Now, one trait most of them seem to share is apathy. I see these teenagers on Long Island, excluding a selective few, who are given everything they want and need, everything they want and don’t need and everything they don’t even want. This in it of itself is not necessarily a bad thing because I know my parents wanted to make sure I was comfortably happy with my life, however one thing that separates me from a lot of these teenagers today is that I a.) Greatly appreciate all of the sweat my parents put into working to make sure my sisters and I had everything we needed and basically everything we wanted (And still to this day make sure my parents know we value their efforts) and b.) Even though they worked hard FOR us, they also worked hard WITH us, instilling a sense of work ethic and responsibility. I know that it doesn’t really matter WHAT you do but HOW you do it. If I work mopping floors, as long as I sweat doing it, I know I’ve worked hard. My grandparents, on both sides, didn’t go to college, didn’t have a lot of money growing up, and still built a foundation for their family, still kept at it even though days were long and exhausting, still had time to make sure their children knew what it meant to work and to be proud of something that they were a part of. My parents have now transferred that sense of accountability onto us kids. I am deeply saddened by teenagers who don’t take their education seriously, who don’t work hard for the things they receive and who don’t appreciate everything their parents have done for them. I am also deeply saddened by teenagers who aren’t involved in what’s going on around them. Here’s my advice to you all. GET INVOLVED. Life doesn’t change or get better by sitting on your ass. Sooner or later you need to make the decision of whether or not you want to be the leg in which society is proud to stand on, or the blemish in which society only prepares to hopefully scrub away.