Teens Can Invent, Too

     Popsicles. Cancer screening. The toy truck. Sign language translator. The toddler-proof safety gate. Non-reusable syringes. Earmuffs. Some of these are little inventions that we use each day for entertainment or necessity, while others save lives. But what do they all have in common? In case you're too lazy to raise your eyes to the header, I'll tell you: They were all invented by kids.
     I'm using the term "kids" loosely here. Elizabeth Nathan and Gabrielle Pollack (syringe) were nineteen, technically adults. Ryan Patterson (translator), Chester Greenwood (earmuffs), Ben and Janet Song (cancer screening) were all teenagers when they came up with their inventions. The rest were invented by thirteen-and-unders.
     Like many of their adult counterparts, these young inventors got their ideas from simple everyday experiences. Frank Epperson left a drink with a stirring stick out overnight. Ryan Patterson was sitting in his local Burger King, watching a man translate sign language into English. A thought became an idea, an idea became an invention, an invention changed the way we all live our lives, one way or another. Just because they're young doesn't mean they can't make an impact. And that doesn't mean you can't either.

Dying Teenager Makes Bucket List

     Everybody has things they want to do some time in their life, but most of us procrastinate. We figure we'll have long lives, lots of time to do what we want. Alice Pyne doesn't have that luxury. At fifteen, Alice has been fighting cancer for four years. As she's reaching the end of her battle, she came up with a list of seventeen things she'd like to do in her remaining time. The list includes

• To swim with sharks
• To go whale watching
• To make everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor
• To enter Mabel (cute doggie in the picture) in a dog show

     As Alice's list goes viral, she inspires countless others to take action, help others, and fulfill our own dreams. She reminds adults just how special teenagers are. Thank-you, Alice, and good luck with your list!

How Teens Have Influence

     In many ways, today's youth live in an adults' world. Adults write newspapers and books. They control TV and radio stations. But newspapers, books, TV, and radio combined are not as powerful as the internet. When you want to learn the definition of a word, do you look it up in a dictionary or google it? Which do you use more often, wikipedia or an actual encyclopedia? Do you even own an encyclopedia? If you do, when was the last time you dusted it? If you want to find out what's going on with somebody who lives far, far away, do you send them a letter or facebook them?
     Facebook, facebook, facebook. It really does rule the world today, and the teenagers rule it. Yes, I know that adults use it too, but they're just getting introduced to it. The adults are still adjusting. Today's youth are being raised on it. And we know how to put it to good use.
     If you've read my earlier posts about James Tate, you know that facebook helped reverse the princi-pal's decision. Wait, let me rephrase. Facebook reversed the principal's decision. Set up a few pages, get a few thousand people to like them, and voila, "international notoriety", as the principal herself called it.
     Another important way teenagers influence the world is language. Namely, slang. I cannot think of any slang word or term that was invented by an adult. And why is that? Because young people are new. They come onto the sceen with new problems, new interests, new thoughts, and new words to explain them. And sometimes, these words become popular with people of all ages.
     (A little tip for the adults of the world: Do not attempt to use any slang you have not heard a young person say. You may be more wise and mature than they are, but this is their sphere of control.)
     So even though teenagers are faced with prejudice and aren't taken seriously by adult media, we control, we control other forms of communication that are gaining more and more power by the day.