Because I'm the Immature One in this Situation...

#34 "You feel that adults treat you as an equal".

I completely agree with Joe. I often find myself having conversations with people who are older than me and think that an age difference alone makes the person superior to me. However, I feel that this is most definitely not the case. It absolutely galls me when an adult acts in such a way that they seem like the child. I have been treated like scum when walking into the discipline office at school; I was turning in a cell phone at the time. Perhaps the way my parents raised me lends itself to my reaction towards patronizing adults. My parents never implied that my opinion did not matter or that I felt that they were neglecting my rights as a human being. My mother especially taught me that teenagers are often ignored. The administration at our school would treat a parent's complaint far different than a student's. I have had issues with my counselor that my mom has had to resolve because I felt disrespected by her but any articulation of said feeling could easily be written off as a kid complaining.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence states that "All men are endowed by their creator certain inalienable rights,that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". People went to war because they were denied these rights. Yet in high school we are denied these rights, and yes, I do understand part of it. However, having your high school prom canceled because you wanted to bring your lesbian date (Mississippi March 11, 2010) is an infringement that should not be tolerated. In more advanced classes you are taught to question motivation, but in the lunch room or in the hallway a simple "Why?" can get you a detention. Until you turn eighteen, all of those fluffy ideals that people consider common place do not actually apply you. The right to follow your beliefs is not actually guaranteed because we "rebel" and will use these rights to do so. If all adults are not considered to be the same person, then why are kids expected to be?

--Lizzy Jamnik