I have two jobs, one where I am surrounded (if you can call 1 or 2 people at 2Am surrounded) by professional adults, and another, where I work at a local pet store, where i am typically surrounded by teenagers. I like the teenagers, and I consider them 'work friends' but I would never hang out with them, I seek out those that are my own age mentally, and amazingly, sometimes, very rarely, a teenager will fit the bill, but their life is so different they still don't become a part of my life in anything other than aquaintence.
I can also attest that a fast food lifestyle and lack of general movement is costing our youth, I think I was on the crest of this wave, the internet became a true reality 9for geeks like me) while I was still in highschool, I spent hours on the Prodigy Network and a few other early bloomers. My parents, (in one of their few mistakes) never let me handle very much money or manage my own savings account, so when I finally got out on my own, I went absolutely nuts, ate out all the time, and did other stupid stuff... now, that wasn't why I gained weight (I lifted weights heavily in HS and some in college, but a back injury forced me to stop (until recently!
) I kept eating like I was supporting a ton of muscle, but over a period of years, that muscle became flab, then fat, and I blew up to over 400 lbs... I have gotten down to a reasonable weight twice in the last 5 years, it's a constant battle between schedule (working 60 to 80 hour weeks) and what I truly believe to be an addiction to fast food, not just that it's tasty but that it is so easy to get.
The last Month my wife and I have been making a concerted effort to prepare our meals at home, health concious meals that include a ton of veggies and lean meats, and I have actually lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks... without exercise, just by cutting out the fast food, which I now only eat about once or twice a week when thos event's just totally prevent a healthy meal. I have however now stashed protien bars and shakes everywhere I go, whether it is a friends house, one of my jobs, family, in my truck, you name it.. knowing is not half the battle, knowing and preparing is. Next week I start lifting hard core again. I have made a promise to everyone I know (I'll make it to you too) I will not be fat when I am 30. As of today, I have 2 months, 20 days to achieve that goal, and I only need to lose about 70 lbs.
I have done it before, I can do it again, and will keep it off this time. I wasted my 20's with this gut, I am going to enjoy my 30's.
So, on topic (somewhat) moral of the story. Your responsible for your own actions, I figured out Fast Food was bad for me long ago, but I didn't take appropriate action to cut it out of my life. I am doing so now, oh, and if you eat, and your still hungry, wait 30 minutes, and contrary to my parents admonitions, it's a good habbit to always leave a little of everything on your plate. Don't ever feel like you have to finish it.
Which brings me back to my earlier points alpha, I don't think Kids need to be mindless drones, and I never said that. I was taking issue solely with the level of respect given, nothing else. And as far as Tanya goes, pointing out that the brute force method (more studying) is not the best way per say, that the road less traveled (asking for extra credit) can have nice results. If a good student asks for it, they usually get it, as opposed to a bad student trying to salvage the term.
Aprihl, Congrats on getting your GED. Shows a lot of gumption to go and get it after such a long break. (And I absolutely suck at math too, I much prefer an artful solution to a problem than the logical rule bound solution. Who cares that you got the answer if the work itself isn't a masterpiece!) I will say, that all I have accomplished in math, being bad at it makes the successes that much more sweet.
oh, And Alpha, it's not that I wasn't trying, I wasn't being given the opportunity to try. I suffer(ered?) from ADD, and Disgraphia (much like dislexia with numbers and equations getting screwed up 2 + 2 = 22 int he mind, crap like that) the answer was not to slow me down, which is what the school was doing, but to put the pressure on, that is where i blossomed, and still do, light a fire under my hind quarter, and I will do a 4 man teams 6 months of work in 10 hours.