My name is Makayla and I am a 10th grader at CVHS. I have lived in La Crescenta my whole life going through both La Crescenta Elementary and Rosemont Middle schools. In general, I have seen that La Crescenta is a loving community. Of course, we are not perfect but we can try to strive for the best. An area that can be improved upon is the youth.

We, as kids, can’t improve unless we get the support that we need from adults.  I think a problem that adults have, in general, is they judge teens as one unit. Adults may think that all kids go through “that phase” or all teens are lazy. This might hold true for some teens, but as we know, everybody is different (adult or teen). It is hard, in my opinion, to have this generic, ideal child. We are individuals and we all are very special in our own ways. So me speaking for all teenagers is impossible.

But there are so many ways adults can improve the happiness of their kids. Even the simplest things can make your child happy. However, like I said, we are all different. This means that simply making your child happy might be harder than it seems. An awesome place to start is getting to know what their interests are. Once a parent understands their child, they understand how to help them to enjoy life to the fullest.

As I have made my way to 10th grade, I have seen kids my age deal with the stresses and pressures of being teenagers. We teenagers figure out ways to deal with stress in our own ways, whether it is good or bad. My goal in this community is to steer kids away from those bad methods of dealing with stress and show them that life has so much to offer and can be wonderful if they put their minds to it.

The measures that I have taken to make my goal a reality is that I am now a part of the CV Alliance. I am part of the youth and family sector. Here I am able to assemble a wonderful group of amazing teens with the help of adults to make the lives of youth in La Crescenta better. We hope to throw events, fundraisers and presentations to make this happen. We would love any help, whether it be financial or physical, to continue this project. If anyone would like to find out more about the CV Alliance, the website is www.cv-alliance.org or you can contact info@cv-alliance.org.  Or you and/or your teen can join us at our next Youth Alliance meeting tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the CV Alliance/Crescenta Valley Chamber office [3131 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta].

Thank you.

Makayla Rabago

  Makayla RABAGO