[media-credit id=173 align=”alignright” width=”265″][/media-credit]Decisions, decisions, decisions. Teens are no different than adults when it comes to prioritizing and evaluating choices. Often it is family and the influence of their peers who sway teens on selecting friends, jobs, activities or values.

Many students have clear morals and values for high school and some walk in to high school naive. Many students develop those values and discipline in the home.

“My family has highly influenced me and shaped how I have grown up,” Matthew Brouwer, ’06, said. “People become like their family no matter what; they can?t break away from the chains of their heritage.”

Problems and teen issues in the family can lead create issues that the teen will have to address later as they grow up. The lack of responsibility of parents can hurt their children later on in their life.

“Parents should spend as much time as they can with their children,” Scott Falk, campus pastor, said. “Parents must be the ones who restore relationships in the family and be concerned with their children.”

Many students feel the pressure of growing up effect the decisions the make. When there is lack of authority figures in a teen’s life, their morals and values are shaped around their peers.

“I believe the family influences each other in an extreme way,” Brouwer said. “Having that influence enables teens to appreciate them more.”

It is more challenging for a student to break away from the chains of their past than for teens who have had approapriate discipline from their parents. The principles teens learn while they are young will benefit them, as they grow older. It will be easier for them resist the downfalls that pull them away from their goals in life.

“My Dad got me a job at Gottschalks because I was looking for a job,” Kelsey Boogusch, ’06, said. “I learned by working at Gottschalks that I was just working to make money. He taught me that I should love job and find something I love and have a passion for.”

The love parents show their kids teach them valuable lessons that stick with them for a lifetime. The positive influence parent?s give their children can affect their future of the person they become.

“I never liked playing goalie in soccer,” Vincent Cabias, ’09, said. “Every time I complained about it, my Dad would get on my case. He taught me that no matter what I do, do it 110%, and never give up.”

Every little lesson learned as teens grow up shape the person they become. Teens can either learn from the lessons their parents teach them, or they can ignore them.

“I believe teens can break away from their parents and make their own decisions,” Brandon Cain, ’06, said. ?People can be influenced, but they are not robots.”

When goals are set, failures will ultimately occur and teens give up or keep striving towards their goal. The more people get knocked down, the stronger they get when they persevere through the challenge.

“The struggles I have seen my peers go through have really affected me,” Holly Furtado, ’06, said. “I have learned from the hard times they have gone through and the struggles they have experienced with their families.”

Students who come from strong families realize how much their family affects their character. When they see the pain their classmates go through, they realize how blessed they are to have a family that loves and cares for them.

“I think it takes a lot of courage and strength for teens to meet their goals,” Bethany Morton, ’06, said. “The ability to live with the sin of one’s parents and not follow in their footsteps takes a lot of ambition.”

They destiny of a person can be highly influenced by their surroundings, but everyone has their own choice to be the person they want to become. It is the consequences of that choice which will take time to play out.