WHAT comes to mind when you hear the word ‘teenager’? Selfie? Instagram? Snapchat?
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These words create an image in your head of a stereotypical, privileged, self-absorbed teenager. This is a stereotype shaped by the media that has firmly attached itself to our generation.
So are we all unable or perhaps unwilling to look beyond our own needs and wants? Is giving to others #uncool?
Fourteen Year 11 students from Trinity are showing us that this is not the case.
These 14 students have consciously put their hands up to go on a trip to experience how different life can be for people the same age and/or gender across the world.
So why on earth would these teenagers decide to give up their Christmas presents and weekends to raise money to go on a trip to a third-world country?
The students who are taking part in this trip made their decision based on a common reason: they wanted to get a view of life from a different (and, in some ways, a completely parallel) perspective.
These students realise and recognise how privileged they are, and are willing to open their eyes to the lives of people in extremely different situations.
While Australian teenagers are thinking about university and jobs for leaving school, teenage girls in Timor Leste are thinking about marriage and children. These are the sort of shocking facts that are going to shape these students’ perspectives on their return to their comfortable lives back in Australia.
Unrequited, selfless acts such as the Timor Leste immersion trip are proof that teenagers are not as ignorant and self-absorbed as society sees us. These students are aware of their privilege and are willing to open their eyes to the lives of those without privileges. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the stereotypes put on this generation.
The students will continue to raise money for the orphanages, disability houses and communities they will visit, including running Bunnings barbecues and another carwash.
If this is something you would like to get behind, please contact Mr Matthews at Trinity Catholic College (4821 3600). For more details, go to Trinity’s Facebook page or school website: trinitycollege.nsw.edu.au
