Boredom: It’s a Slow, Dull Two-Way Road
by Ryan McDonald, Oakmont Junior
In the small community of Westminster, there are a limited amount of activities for a teenager to do. Yes, Wachusett Mountain overlooks the town but not all of us ski or snowboard. We could go ice skating but that requires shoveling. Sledding is a definite but as the winter months drag on; we lose our patience with the cold. And yes, Gardner Cinema is fifteen minutes away but not all of us have money or a car. Even so, if parents do make a donation to our charity, the money will be put in our mouths in the form and shape of fast food. Now, one reading this article may be thinking by now “what is wrong with kids these days?”
I assure the reader that there is very little wrong with my generation except for one thing, we get bored easily. Speaking as a teenager, the stages of boredom are a grueling, agitating progression. First, we most likely will text a friend while watching TV. A select few will pick up a book. A parent might think “hey, my child is preoccupied.” Secretly, this is just the beginning of a terrible cycle for both the parents and the teenager. Then, just as a parent walks into the living room, he or she will hear the infamous cry “Mom, Dad! I’m bored!” Usually, the parent’s reply involves doing something insipid like homework or chores. However, as we all know that won’t happen, just yet.
Secondly, we like to burrow into our hermit-shell rooms for about fifteen minutes and stare eagerly at our phones, praying for that friend to reply.
Thirdly, we will almost certainly return to watching TV. In this amount of time, a teenager will probably check his or her Facebook about four times.
Right here is when parental action should be taken. By that point, we grow tired of what is on TV. and resort to watching something like Olympic curling. Desperate times call for desperate measures and we get cranky. Why should a parent succumb to the importuning of a teenager? Parents can increase their quality of life. It’s true! Rid the stress by taking their kid to a friend’s house or movies or anywhere! Twenty minutes later and twenty dollars poorer, the parents will realize that they just bought a quiet house and nice evening. On the other hand, good things can come out of saying “no” to us also but getting those good things can be painful.
After we get bored with the TV. or in my case realize that curling is in fact not a sport, we will pace around the house. The Facebook check count has probably risen to nine by now. My personal favorite routine is to open the fridge, open the freezer, open each and every cabinet, then leave while totally forgetting to close the doors. Five minutes later, I’ll come back and unknowingly do it again. For a parent, the worst thing to do at this point is to make eye contact with us. Any contact or effort by then is futile. Once eye contact is initiated, teenagers will bee-line it towards the parent and cry remarks of boredom painful to anyone’s ear.
I could only imagine how parents feel after we eat half the kitchen, sit on a couch for two hours, and do absolutely nothing constructive. Remember, I did say good things can come out of this. While we complain, the parent should suggest doing a chore or homework again. We will surely say no, look at our cell phone to find still no text messages, and return to the couch one last time. Habitually, we flip through the channels to find nothing on TV, yet again. Look at our phone, still no text messages, yet again. With a heave and sigh, it is then; we will do something with our lives.
Whether or not going through all this trouble is worth the outcome depends on one’s willpower. Parents with the ability to ignore, drop out, and tune in just when they need are truly gifted. Intransigent, stubborn teenagers who nag and nag can be a burden. On a positive note, give twenty years and that pain could make a successful entrepreneur. Nevertheless, a parent does not have to drive their kid anywhere or give them money. From time to time, all the parent has to do is hang out with his or her child. Watch a movie, play a game, or simply talk. No matter how reluctant the teenager or even the parent may be, this is a panacea solution for both sides.
Although there are few places in Westminster to get off the slow, dull two-way road called boredom, no one says teenagers and parents can’t drive on the same side. Thus, both sides will learn and in all probability forget that there is always a solution over in the next room, waiting to take a right turn off boredom road.