Whine much lately? It could be worse.
by Matt Grantz, Assistant Editor
March 21, 2011

High school teens often think that their lives are very difficult, that their lives “suck.” This belief may stem from busy schedules, which force students to run from class to class and activity to activity or from a belief that school is an evil thing that must be suffered through with teachers and administrators as the enemy.

These beliefs are propped up even more by a tendency for younger people to ignore the world outside. Sure, they will take a trip to the mall or down to Pittsburgh, but really, how far is that?

But when we teens do take the time to look outside this small bubble of home and school life, we discover major events that find people suffering through actual bad days. In Libya, brave men and women are fighting against the brutal dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who has ruled that country with an iron fist for over 40 years. Currently, these rebels are receiving no support and Gadhafi’s military is slowly destroying them.

Wouldn’t you say the people of Libya are having a series of truly bad days?

The Japanese started their awful set of days on Mar. 11 when their nation was struck with one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. As if the earthquake wasn’t bad enough, it was immediately followed by a massive tsunami that hit the Japanese coast, bringing destruction upon small villages. In an ordinary disaster (if there can be such a thing) these two events would be the end of it and relief efforts to save the injured would begin. Unfortunately, this is no ordinary disaster. The tsunami damaged a nuclear power plant and it is feared that large amounts of radiation could be released into the atmosphere.

I’d say those are some really, really bad days, no?

Now, with that in mind, look at the average bad day of a high school teen. It could consist of getting yelled at by a teacher, receiving a bad test grade, or maybe just being all-around stressed out. The bad day might also extend to something a little more personal, perhaps fighting with a significant other or getting turned down by a member of the opposite sex. In the world of a high school teens, these events are all pretty bad. But compare them to the suffering of the people in Japan or Libya. Now are those issues really so awful when compared to the current suffering in those countries?

That’s not to say that a teens can’t and don’t have a bad day. Really bad things can happen, such as the death of a close family member or friend, abuse and poverty. But on the whole, the issues of a high school student are rather trivial when we look outside our own small bubble.

I’m not saying we should shut up and put up with what’s bothering us. I’m just suggesting that when we have a bad day, we should think about how much worse it really could become. Instead of facing a teacher’s wrath, we could be facing a brutal dictator whose goal is our destruction or we might be waiting to find out if our family has survived catastrophic destruction brought by Mother Nature.

Keep my message in mind when experiencing a bad day, and keep the people of Libya and Japan in your thoughts.

Posted by "Melinda McCorkle" on May 1, at 7:06 p.m.

I really like this article. A lot of teens, including myself, sometimes forget how much they have. I know I stress out over the littlest things only to realize that they aren't that important. I think everybody should open their eyes and see how much worse things could be. Great job, Matt!

Posted by "Kirsten Scott" on April 11, at 3:03 p.m.

I really enjoyed this article. I can totally relate to this. I'll admit I am a whiner, but I know I could have it a lot worse. Even when I do have a bad day, I really don't have too much room to complain. At least I know when I go home, I have a great family, understanding parents and warm home. My familly makes all my worries go away at the end of the day, so I guess instead of whining, I should be more thankful.

Posted by "Rebecca Pavlik" on April 11, at 11:23 a.m.

I always try to stop to think about what's going on out in the world...key word "try." It's hard to even imagine what is going on out there because we can only see pictures and hear about it. I do have times where I think my day is just horrible, but then I sit down, take a deep breath and know it could be worse. Nice job, Matt!

Posted by "Chris Claypool" on April 10, at 11:02 p.m.

I totally agree with you opinions, Matt. Teenagers these days do not realize how good they have it. We are so blessed to have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food to eat. After the devastation in Japan, most people would die for these three items. On days when we think we are really having a bad day, we should just think that it could always be worse.