With countless complaints against the modern teenager, the world is hanging on to the hope that 2016 will be better. Everyone knows of the past generation’s fads with their slang words like “dope” and the more cringe worthy “fo-schizzle” or the phrase “see you on the flip-side.” But looking around me in the halls of SHS students, I can’t help but wonder just how much we’re all going to be made fun of by the generations to come.

Reflecting on the past I wonder: How many of us are cultured enough that we’ve seen at least five black and white movies by choice? One thing that I have noticed is that our generation is very modern. But there are so many classics that need to be explored. Honestly, I think it should be a mandatory right of passage where once you become a teenager you must sit down and have a John Hughes movie marathon. Pretty in Pink, the Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off just get any teenager. Yes, they are from the ‘80s, but not all great things were created in the 2000s.

One unfortunate thing that came from the 1980s is the “I crapped my pants” look. Can we all just address now that it is in no way “cool” to have your pants down to your knees? This has just gone on way too long, isn’t it time to step up the fashion game? Something else that has gone on way too long is the awful epidemic of annoying songs that I hear someone singing every passing period. Not everyone likes “Trap Queen,” “Hotline Bling,” “Hit the Quan” or “What do You Mean?” And turning down the volume will not damage your look. Listening to music through headphones at full volume will damage your hearing so if not to spare the ears of others, do it for your own.

On another serious note, teenagers should start preparing for their futures. Not everyone knows what they want to do, but some of us are graduating in 2016. Not everyone knows if they even want to attend college. These are the things to figure out during the four year long wait between middle school and college. Before making a choice, simply working to do well in school is the best option. If you decide later on that you do want to attend college then you’ll already have the GPA for it. The more important choices can be made later, but the biggest choice one should make is to try. I think we should all keep this in mind in 2016 even if we just really don’t want to put up with school at the moment, it’ll pay off.

With today’s electronics students must make the conscious decision to pay attention in class. They have their phones glued to their hand with so many games at their fingertips. Therefore, even those of us that know that we want to go to college have to realize that we’ll have to buckle down, stop playing games and texting, and put down the electronics.

“If your teachers are talking and trying to teach, then that’s your education and you should listen,” junior Celina Caluza said.

Starting the new year, shouldn’t we all turn the page and make a fresh start with it? You can change anything you want any time you want, so why not start this year?