Dear Marsha,
I am one of 5 kids in our family. I fall right in the middle of ages. My problem is that I am always getting teased by my older brothers and my youngest sisters. I make great grades in school and I don’t play on the computer like they do all the time. I don’t have anything in common with them and they think I am the outcast. I am in my first year of highschool. I am finding the work harder than before and it takes up a lot of my time. I wish they would take their classes more seriously and leave the game chat alone. They think life is about their success on the stupid games. Am I wrong for wanting to study and make a career for myself? Will they ever see that they need to spend less time on games and focus more time on real studies?
Please help me to stay focused and not let them bother me so much and talk to them about how much time they are spending online.
Focused Fran
Dear Focused Fran,
In todays society, the role of computers seems to be replacing many of the traditional methods of passing time by such as watching television, reading books, writing letters, family board games, and much more.
I would like to congratulate you for staying faithful to your studies. I am certain that this will pay off in the long run. You will make it into a fine college and be successful if you continue to follow this path.
High school studies are more difficult than you were used to before. They are preparing you for college life and studies. You have a lot of writing papers and reading books ahead of you yet. If you were to stay on the computer playing games like your siblings, then I am afraid you would not be nearly as prepared or focused for your finals.
There is a lot of knowledge that can be learned from the computer, but from what I gather, your brothers and sisters are not taking advantage of the great knowledge it can provide and instead wasting their time on games. If you sincerely feel they are spending far too much time online, I would suggest you speak to your parents or guardian about it. They should be just as concerned about their childrens grades and well being as you are for them. Perhaps they can limit the time they spend each day on the computers. I would hope to think that they would want your brothers and sisters to achieve in life and to make something for themselves.
In the meantime, please allow me to encourage you to remain focused in your studies, and to ignore their words of discouragement. I would suggest that you not argue with your siblings about the lack of interest in their games. Try to make small chat with them about what you are studying. Ask them questions to see if they can help you with the answers. That alone will make them feel as if they are not as smart as you are if they are unable to answer it. You need not rub it in their face that they are wrong, just simply smile and walk away.
Always,
Marsha
Tell ‘em to laugh/tease you all the way to bank when you get your career >: )