"You Are Important and You Are Needed"

Inspiration for today's post comes from a photo that a Facebook friend of mine posted yesterday. It was a photo of a news article, and unfortunately I do not know it's original source, but this is what it said:
Words for Teenagers
Northland College principal John Tapene has offered the following words from a judge who regularly deals with youth. "Always we hear the cry from teenagers, 'what can we do, where can we go?'
"My answer is this: Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and after you're finished, read a book. Your town doesn't owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun.
"The world does not owe you a living. You owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in sickness and lonely again. In other words grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It's too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you!"
Wow. If this isn't a huge wake up call and one of the most honest things I've ever read, then I'm the creator of the Italian mafia.
When I first started reading this and saw "your town doesn't owe you recreational facilities," I thought, "well what else do we expect teens to do?" When I read on, I felt like an idiot to say the least.
Not only are there so many more things for teenagers--and everyone else for that matter--to do than I had ever thought of doing while I was a teen, but there is something that can be done about the things that we want to see become a reality.
The above article is a call to action and an absolute slap in the face from reality. No one owes us anything. We owe something to ourselves. Rather than sitting at home complaining how bored we are, let's put our voices to good use. Go speak up for abused children who can't do it on their own. Go play bingo with a senior citizen who will live the rest of their days inside the walls of a nursing home. Go find out how to begin the process of receiving grants for a playground that you never had as a child.
The ending of the article really brings it all home: "Someday is now and that somebody is you." You want your town to create a safe place for children to play and teens to gather? You think there should be more family oriented events planned in your community? Well, who is the town if it isn't you and me? "You are important and you are needed."
We are the town, the neighborhood, the country, the world. Let's start putting our talents and our blessings to use by sharing them with others for the good of all.