Mi ghetto es su ghetto. No really, it is.

That is exactly what teenagers are starting to treat our communities like, the ghetto. Could this be because they are physically unable to pick up the trash that they throw on the ground? Could it be because they have a rare mental disorder that causes them to have the urge to be destructive? I don’t think so. It is the result of a total lack of respect and laziness.

I wonder what it is that possesses teenagers to be as disrespectful and careless as they are. Teenagers take EVERYTHING for granted. You know, that neighborhood you live in wasn’t given to your family on a silver platter. Your parent’s have to bust their rear ends to pay for that house of yours in that nice neighborhood. The same thing goes for all the other residents that live there and spend five or more days out of their week working to pay for the mortgage on their house, homeowner’s association fees, etc. Where do so many teens get the idea that it all belongs to them and that they have the right to ruin it for everyone else?

This is the suburbs, not the inner city. So why is there gang related graffiti on the sidewalks and in the parks? I have nothing against someone who belongs to a gang, but do not bring the influence to my neighborhood. Countryside, Kingswood Parke, Sundial, or any other community is not the place for it.

I believe it’s time to put a stop to the vandalism and negligence in our communities. It’s time to clean up and get rid of the trash. We as teens need to take advantage of any influence we have and step up. It may not always seem cool to take an interest in the community or spend our time doing something beneficial to the neighborhood, but if enough teenagers took an interest, the positive repercussions could be remarkable. The reality is that there is a problem and nobody is really doing anything to solve it. So what’s the next step? Make a difference in any way possible.

To all of those who are taking a part in defacing our neighborhoods, it’s time to grow up. All you’re doing is taking something very important away from the rest of us. You are depriving us of the opportunity to take full pride in our communities and in turn are giving us nothing more than a giant headache and a view of nonsense. Cut the [garbage] and obtain some maturity. Maybe next time I read an editorial to the Surprise Independent about vandalism it’ll be about how it isn’t being tolerated and not how it shouldn’t be.