Young People Want to Be Heard

This essays talks directly to all young people that want to be seen positively in all areas of their life

As a young person in today's society, you are often viewed in a negative light. You are seen as arrogant, lazy, anti-social and sometimes even violent. You often feel that you are not being heard and that people have already made up their mind about the kind of person you are before they even given you a chance. And quite frankly, it sucks!

Well, I am here to you tell that you that they are wrong. You have the right to be seen exactly the way you want to be.

The image of young people in media is heavily negative. It seems like all it takes is for one young person to do one bad thing and you are all labelled as bad and unruly - the classic case of one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. For example, young people who go out wearing hoodies being perceived as anti-social. Forget the fact that it just may be an item of clothing that you like wearing. No, you must be up to no good if you walk around wearing a hoodie. Remember in 2007 there was a picture with David Cameron and a young man making a 'gun-shot' gesture to towards David Cameron as he is walking away.

It made front page news when it first came out. The media went to town telling us that the young man in the photo was a criminal still wearing an electronic tag who also a gang member in the 'crime-addled' estate that David Cameron was visiting that day.

However pictures with young people shown in a positive light with David Cameron as respected members of their communities never make front page news.

Well, it's time for change. People need to stop seeing you as rude, bad and aggressive, but rather as smart, fun, intelligent and a valued member of your community. You really can be seen this way by everyone around, but it starts with you.

You have a choice to change the way see you and make a difference in your community all at the same time. You can shape your own future, and not be tarred by the media, or even by some other young person's brush who has made some bad choices in their life. You are you own person!

When the riots happened in cities all the UK last year (2011), there was news coverage (both on the TV and in newspapers) consistently for a whole week all. Everybody was bad-mouthing young people. General opinion was what hope was there for any of us with young people were looting shops and burning down buildings.

Although there were some attempts to find why young people were acting out like this, but this was small compared the MPs who made it very clear that the young people involved would be punished to the full extent of the law. Make no mistake, of course the young people who rioted and looted were wrong and all news should be reported, but when was the last time there was week-long news coverage about all the great and wonderful things young people are doing? Never, that's when! Why? Because it's not newsworthy.

But what if you could change that? What if you make people see you differently? If you could stand out and make people take notice of you in a good and positive way.

When you don't feel like