Michelle's advice to parents!

18 year old Michelle is from Letterkenny and will be doing her Leaving Cert this year. Here she tells us about life as a poverty stricken student!

To those strict parents out there who may limit their teenager's social events please don't. You have no idea how bored we are and the reality is we can really be dramatic if we don't get our way.

Because next year I'm sitting the most important exams ever I could get a head start on studying, let me put emphasise on the word “could”

I could also clean my room; help around the house even become the new Charlie Dimmock with the gardening or I could sit around all day watch endless amounts of Dr. Phil and Oprah (seriously they are so educational), sleep for hours on end and live off my parents by simply writing an I Owe You.

Now I know which one appeals to me more but I swear if I have to spend 3 whole months inside my house I will go insane. To all those caring parents who have teenagers currently on summer holidays some words of advice are as follows:

• Book a holiday. Teenagers love the sun and it is money well spent as with a real tan who needs sun shimmer every week?
• Do not dictate to them how to live their life. If they want to sleep until mid afternoon let them, they are just tired, after all try spending 9 months at school… Not an easy task.
• Know the differences between a want and a need. Wants include clothes, computers, and books. Needs include trampolines, cars, credit and holidays.
• If your teenager needs money give it to them. Sure, you may go bankrupt at the end of August but it saves you all those teenager mood swings so it's really worth it.
• Finally the most important point of all, leave them alone. Free houses are an easy way to make friends and to develop social skills plus it helps create responsible mature teenagers. Aww nice!

In conclusion to all those teenagers out there, try and make the most of the summer, have fun, stay positive and keep smiling for at least a few hours in the day! If you can't get a job, try and get out of the house at least! And if times of absolute desperation appear you could get a head start on studying, as the saying goes “desperate times equals desperate measures”

And if you ever feel like you are going to die of complete boredom just sing the song that Dory from Finding Nemo sings “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming”.

By: Michelle Kavanagh

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