Johnny’s parents sitting in the front room watch the clock move closer to midnight. And as the chimes begin to toll, Dad begins to pace the floor. Before the chimes finish, they hear the scratching of deadbolt in lock and, sauntering through the door, Johnny exclaims, “I’m back!”

For some parents, letting their children grow up and become independent may be a challenging task. But for teens, it is a time they try to earn the privilege of being on their own. Building trust with parents takes time with fulfilling responsibilities their parents set out for them.

“Usually when I lie to my parents or lose their trust, they sit me down and give me a half a hour lecture,” Chad Wathen, ’06, said. “They don’t trust me as much after that and it takes about a month or two to regain the trust.”

Gaining trust from parents takes a long time, but breaking down the trust can be undone in a second.

“My husband and I have two kids,” Cheryl Pohl, high school secretary said, “and when they did not follow rules, privileges were taken away. Sometimes it takes awhile to regain trust, but fortunately God blessed us with two very obedient children.”

While some teenagers want to grow up quickly and become an adult, many just want to keep acting like children and stay young.

“I like watching cartoons because it gives me a half a hour of senseless enjoyment,” Daniel Kessler, ’06, said. “I don’t learn anything, but it is fun watching them. I want to grow up sooner or later, but for right now, I still want to be a kid.”

In today’s society pressure is placed on children to act like adults and take on adult responsibilities. Many teens apply for jobs at 16, travel around the world and drive a nice car.

By the time teenagers graduate high school, many believe there is not much left for them to do except graduate from college, find a career and start a family.

“It seems that whatever stage of life you are in, there is the temptation to look back or ahead and wish you were there instead,” Julie McEntee, substitute teacher, said.