From the time children had learned to talk, they have found it pretty easy to find things to disagree with and argue about with their parents. There’s a very wide range of things that I could find to argue about with my parents, but the biggest disagreement I have with them would most definitely have to be curfew. I’m 17 and by law I have no curfew, in Lemont that is. Also, I hardly ever get into any serious trouble. I think I deserve to be out having a good time with friends.

Since the day I had turned 17, I had been telling my parents that I don’t have a curfew anymore. They never believed me, no matter how many times I told them to call or look it up. So finally, the other day I went to the Lemont Police Station’s homepage and printed it out. They looked at it and then knew that I had not been lying all this time. Yet, they still make me come home at 12:00 sharp. For the longest time their argument had been that I’m still 17 and until I’m 18, I still have a curfew. But, now that they know once you’re 17 there’s no curfew, they’ve completely changed their argument. Now they say that I am not responsible enough to make good decisions past midnight. My mom is always saying how her dad said to her, “nothing good ever happens after midnight.” And both my dad and my mom completely agree with that statement. But the fact of the matter is, most of the time it’s just me and my friends at Denny’s, just hanging out.

Another thing that really bothers me is how much I deserve to be out until whenever I want. I’m doing okay in school, I hardly ever get into any serious trouble, and I am just in general not a bad kid. They think I am spoiled and get more than I deserve, which is far from true. I know I have more than some people, and I am thankful for that, but to say that I’m spoiled, it’s just not the case at all. Even to be able stay out an hour or two later would be fine with me.

Friends take a big part in this too. I usually am the one who ends up driving when we go out, and the idea of me always having to be home at 12:00 a.m. doesn’t exactly thrill my friends. Because if no one else can drive them, I have to be the one to do it which means they get home early, because of me. And if they’re the ones driving me then they have to leave early just so that I can get home on time. It’s also somewhat embarrassing. I’m already 17, and most of my friends are my age or older and hardly any of them, meaning only 1 or 2, have a curfew. It’s a horrible feeling, you’re so close to being 18, yet you’re still living at home with your parents and they make the ultimate decision as to when you come home.

So being 17 and having a curfew isn’t exactly the greatest, but they are still my parents so I have to listen to them and respect their decisions for me. But just because I’m obeying them doesn’t mean I’m giving up on this. I know that I deserve to be out having a good time with my friends and I will argue about this until the day they give in and let me stay out until I want, or until the day I turn 18, which hopefully won’t be the case.