Our Future Isn't So Bright After All

High school kids suck (part of that is jealousy on my part, them having the best years of their lives ahead of them and all, but part of that is just honesty). Yesterday I volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank. It was for of the “Year of Giving” my family and I embarked upon in January. February was my dad’s month, and he wanted us to donate our time, money, or food to help end hunger in our community, so I signed up for a Saturday shift at the food bank. Hence my refreshed hatred for high school students. 

Hate is a harsh word. I don’t actually hate kids who are in high school. I just think they suck majorly. But it’s not entirely their fault. It’s that apathetic teen angst that is par for the course with being in high school. 

What’s this “novel” concept of colleges and employers requiring minimum service hours to their applicants and employees? It’s nothing but a boost for their ego so they can pretend they’re actually a socially conscious brand. But forcing people to do something they don’t want to be doing is not what volunteering is about. Making high school students volunteer so they can log their hours for the sole purpose of getting their time signed off on is counterproductive. If they’re only chatting with their friends, or counting down the minutes, or hiding in the bathroom until the shift is up, how are they benefitting from the service? The organization they’re allegedly “helping” certainly isn’t. 

Sorry; I’ll step off my soapbox now. It’s not the kids fault; all you care about in high school is having the right pair of jeans and being invited to the right party on Friday night. I had my service hour requirements in high school; I get the drill. It was just really frustrating to be working with a bunch of high school groups and seeing the kids ignore pretty much everything we were trained on. It’s not that important I guess; it’s just the difference between a kid eating or going to bed hungry is all.