Hyndman High School
Hyndman, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Janet Phillips

 

A Better Life, A Better Community

By Ashley Blank

Grade: 11

 

We can all see that today’s communities and lifestyles seem to be going further downhill with each problem facing society, but there is something we can do.  Although some people do not see these problems, there are many solutions to them.  I think by realizing our own faults and shortcomings to our honor, we can start to greatly improve the quality of our lives and the world.

           

Divorce is one of our greatest problems in the U.S.  It has many effects on our community and on our children.  Divorces can cause quarrels between families, which can cause trouble in the community.  If people in a community are fighting, instead of working together, then the community does not balance.  If there were children in that marriage, then the children may not have a stable mother and father figure growing up.  If  the child lives with a single parent, it may not get the proper care.  This causes small problems in our towns, and small problems build into bigger ones.  I  think waiting  to get married can easily solve divorce.  I think many people rush into marriages, and it usually does not work.  If half of those people would have waited until they had a stable life and job, and found the right person, you can imagine how many children would have a better life.  It would greatly improve their lives and all of us surrounding them.

           

We all have our own values, but do we have what people know as “traditional values”. Those, the values we receive from our elders, could be the best advice we ever hear.  We were always told to respect our elders and others as well, be kind, help people if we can, and be a good hearted person.  Sometimes I wonder if some of us were paying attention when we were told about values, or if they even know what values are, but I think if we all used them, we could all have a better life.  Some people make excuses for themselves; such as, they cannot express their character if they are such a nice person.  Well I do not think there are any excuses.  It is our, the younger generation’s, responsibility to help our elders.  I would do anything to help my grandparents or any older person.  They will always appreciate anything anyone does for them.  Values do not keep a person from expressing himself, but values are a way to conduct and express oneself at the same time.

           

Some conflicts that occur in our community are between the older and younger generation.  Many of the older society believe that we younger people do not care about the world anymore, but we really do.  I think because some of the younger generation do not use correct morals and give respect to others, the older society think that the world is being corrupted.  Some teens believe their elders look down upon them, which makes teens feel worthless.  Anger between people keeps our communities in chaos.  It keeps us from working together to achieve the goals of our community.  I think that we, the younger generation, need to spend more time with the seniors in our community.  There are many homes you can visit to help make someone’s day brighter.  It is our job to show them we care.

           

I believe that social services cause many problems between people and the quality of life.  I feel that some people take advantage of good things like Welfare.  Some people do not try to go and make a better life for themselves or their children, which lessens the quality of life.  I think that the government should make a committee to check the people on Welfare and see if they have done their share to try to create a life in the world.  There should be restrictions on the money of those who have not.  I think this causes the middle class in America to become provoked with the government.  The people who go to work everyday feel it is unfair and believe the government does not do anything about it.  Some Americans do not trust our government officials, so I believe our government should work to build a better trusting relationship with the people.  They need to show us that  they are trying their best to improve life in America, and by doing that, they will be helping already.

           

The best way to improve our lives in the future is by preparing the younger generation for the work force.  Most of the help we get for this comes while we are in school.   Our teachers teach us everyday to help further our education so we can have a successful life.  This is time well spent because the future depends on our going and doing our best in life.  In the future, by having a good education we can all have a good career, this will help balance our economy.  If we are working to create a better quality of life, then we can have a better income and stop some conflicts between the upper, middle, and lower classes. 

           

I strongly believe that if we all realize the problems we have in our lives, work to make them better, and strive to achieve everything we want, we will all live happier and healthier lives.  We all need to teach our children right from wrong and how to live life the proper way.  I think we should all work together to prefect the problems I discussed because I assume that they are what keep some of us from having the quality of life we should.  If we all work as a team, we can greatly improve the quality of our lives now and in the future. 

 

Answers To Questions Regarding Required Reading

 

1.   In the USA, we invest our lives in commitment to each other.  In Manus, the family of the couple invests shell money and other small gifts in the marriage.

 

2.         53 years, one marriage. You must trust one another; there are no secrets.                           

 

28 years, one marriage. The person you marry should be the one you will love forever.             

5 years, one marriage.  You have to keep an open line to your partner; you can always discuss everything.                                                                                                           

20 years, one marriage.  When you fight with your partner, you must be able to work things out.

 

18 years, one marriage.  You must always listen to each other.                                        

 

13 years, one marriage.  A couple should have some things in common.

 

9 years, one marriage.  You should be willing to learn new things from each other.   

 

19 years, one marriage. You have to be able to keep things exciting and try new things.

 

33 years, two marriages. You should never judge your partner.

 

4 years, one marriage.  The person you marry should be the one you care about most.

 

3.  Life should be getting better, healthier, wealthier, and happier.  If not, we should debate about how we are to live and about what matters in our lives.

 

4.  We need to keep the children of our community out of trouble and give them something creative to do.

 

5.  I think there are too many people in today’s society that let opportunities slip by. If they would grab those chances, it would help close the economic gap.

 

6.  Since the USA is a democracy, we all feel that we are independent and we do not want our government to boss us around.  This makes the lawyers helpful because we hire them to fight for us, instead of having the government make laws about some problems.  Diversity, wealth, and size cause lawyers to be needed for the same general cause; which is, people often become jealous of others. These all deal with person-to-person conflict.

 

7.  I prefer punitive damages because they give the person who was treated badly something to have for their troubles.  It also makes the company pay for what they have done wrong.

 

8. Rather than staying at home, some of these people will start up their own businesses and hire other retired people to help.  This will make these businesses highly competitive. To help keep talented employees, so of these new companies may offer elder care facilities.  This would help with increased productivity and lower absenteeism. This elderly service will also provide opportunities for teenagers.  They can employ young people to do services for the elderly such as running errands and assisting with household chores.

 

9. I do not think it will make a huge impact because people need to want to better themselves.  In some cities, unemployment rate is many times the national average.  Some rural areas are still suffering from poverty since half a century ago.                                                                                                                                                                 

10. They both want to help the younger society in America. They are both interested in furthering education of children. They both take their successes in life to help others.