Tag: parents

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Racial profiling Racism

Freddie Gray’s Parents Awarded $6.4 Million in Freddie Gray’s Death

No award is going to bring back Freddie Gray, but $6.4 million is a step in the right direction.

The deal, announced Tuesday, appeared to be among the largest settlements in police death cases in recent years and happened just days before a judge is set to decide whether to move a trial for six officers charged in Gray’s death.

Gray’s spine was injured April 12 in the back of a prisoner transport van after he was arrested. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died at the hospital a week later. In the aftermath, Gray became a symbol of the contentious relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore, as well as the treatment of black men by police in America.

The settlement still needs the approval of a board that oversees city spending. That board will meet Wednesday morning.

“The proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news release. “This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.”

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college Express Yourself Relationships teenagers young

The Parenting Extremes

For as long as I can remember I’ve had complete freedom when it comes with what I can do with my life. My parents have rarely, if ever, said I can’t do something or hang out with certain people. For as long as I can also remember, I’ve never met parents that are anywhere near as lenient as my parents; many of my friends parents hover over them in one way or another.

My parents didn’t think twice letting me drive and take my friends to play paintball

If you ask my parents why they give me such freedoms, their answer will be that they trust me completely. I’ve never given them a reason to not. I don’t come home drunk or on some drug(s), do reckless things, hang out with the wrong crowd, or be a total numb skull. This trust is what lets me leave late at night, come home even later, have my own car, promote for clubs, sleep over a girlfriends house and hang out with friends they have never met.

Now you may think my parents aren’t involved much in my life if they give me such freedom but, that would be wrong. I love hanging out with my mom and though I can be seen as a tougher kid, I’m not ashamed to say that. Sure me and my dad may get on each other nerves sometimes but, we still have a lot in common that keeps us close. I really do enjoy being around my parents and hanging out with them both.

I was trusted with a car as soon as I got my license

On the other side of the spectrum, most of my friends parents still have a tendency to hover over them as if they’re twelve years old. Their parents control who they hang out with, don’t trust them when they’re out, check in on them constantly, to sum it up they baby their teenage son or daughter. They seem to shelter their kid from the world as much as they possibly can, the same world they’ll one day be on their own to live in.

Ask these teens if they can’t wait to get away from their parents thanks to college or to just be able to move out one day and they will all say “yes!” These same teens usually go totally rebellious once they are free of their parents since they can finally choose their own life to live.

I am not a parent nor am I claiming to be one in anyway. I’ve never raised a kid and don’t plan to for many years to come. I am only a product of how I was raised by my parents; I was raised in a way that I believe every kid should be as well. We all need to be able to experience the world when we’re young, the world we will one day be on our own to live in.

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college Express Yourself family job money teenager

The Desire To Be Independent

Last night I drove my friend Kim and her sister home and got into one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in quite a long time. Kim believes her boyfriend needs to become more independent from his parents as she sees them as still treating him as if he is a young kid, he is actually nineteen. He recently got a good paying job and she says that he is on his way and hopefully will become less dependent on his parents. Her sister on the other hand says that neither of them are ready to be fully independent; she brought up very good points seeing that both live under their roofs of their respected parents still and a part time job will never even pay half of any bill. Her final thoughts on the matter were “You’re both not ready to be independent , nobody is forcing you to do so. Ya both can still ask your parents for whatever you want unlike when you’re older. You need to enjoy that luxury while you still can.”

The most expensive thing I ever bought with my own money, I did feel quite accomplished to do so

Going through middle and high school I was always labeled as the “rich kid” and I tried so hard to shake that false nickname. That goal coupled with just growing up can explain why I desire to be seen or at least try to be independent and make my own way. I can’t even remember the last time I asked for a gift, birthday or even Christmas, on top of that fact nights I go out with friends I always turn down any money my parents want to give me. I’ve gotten into the habit of “If I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it.” It seems to be quite a good motto to live by. My desire to be independent is fueled by my pride, I feel that relying on my parents when I’m eighteen isn’t something I should be doing.

Looking around at my group of friends most of them go to school full time and a handful have a job on the side. Of course thanks to scholarships and loans that money earned from a job is mostly used for leisurely purposes and rarely saved or invested. On the other hand though, most of them want to make it on their own as well and really just grow up and be dependent on no one by themselves. It’s safe to assume that all of us teenagers want to be independent.

Perhaps though, my friend’s sister is completely right. Perhaps none of us teens are really one hundred percent ready to make it on our own just yet. We still live under our parents roofs and I can’t say I know any of my friends who pay all of their own bills by themselves. We still have the luxury of being helped by our parents and it really is something we should enjoy and not brush aside. I guess my desire to be fully independent can be put on hold for at least another year or two.

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