Fired Up- Erica Barba,18

Northridge is No Better Than Sylmar
Teens are the same no matter the time period or place they live in. We all party, listen to music, rebel, and face high school with our clicks. The only difference would be the location, fashion, and trends of the era. With the passing of time it seems teens have become less and less conservative.
Now and days you can find teens rolling in there set of wheels with their stereos pounding to the rhythm of rap, rock, or maybe even R&B. The girls are usually dressed in revealing clothing that makes you think that the fashion statement they are working is “the more skin shown, the better”. The boys are no different they sag there pants so low that it is as if they are flaunting their boxers off to the world.
Personally, I am not like most teens these days. I don’t like wearing booty shorts, or shirts that show my stomach. I hate rap music, it sounds like a bunch of nonsense and I rarely go out to parties that aren’t with my family. I guess the only thing that keeps me sane and unique from the rest is my passion for old times, vintage attire, music, and other items. I love the past; young girls were more elegant than they are now. I choose to follow the ideas from the past but not all of them. Unlike the past I feel women have the right to work hard for themselves not for men. I also feel that all people are equal, where as in the past colored, and gender was treated differently. I guess I follow the fashion from the past while I follow the ideals of the present.
I for one consider myself privileged for not being apart of this distasteful type of teen fashion. Then again everyone has their own opinion, but what I find most disturbing isn’t their taste in fashion. I find it hard to believe that the teens in Northridge are completely different from the teen in Sylmar. I have been fortunate in life to live in such places. I lived in Sylmar for most of my childhood and have grown up in places like Pacoima, Arleta, and San Fernando. It wasn’t till I was going into middle school that my family and I came to live in Northridge. From experience I can say there isn’t much of a difference in the people who live in these places. Like I have said before, we all do the same things. I hate the stereotypes people give places like Arleta, saying “you will get shot just driving by”. I can tell you I have never been shot, never witnessed a drive by shooting, and I am not associated in a gang. I also can tell others that the teens from both places may not like each other because they believe they are all completely different. The only difference I see is better streets, more money, and a better education in the Northridge side. Other than that things aren’t much of a difference.