By JOHN GUSTAFSON
Los Alamos

I applaud Libby Nolen for her forthrightness in describing the difficulties of being a teenager in this town (link). I remember my own teenage years, many decades ago, in an area much more metropolitan than Los Alamos, driving around with friends on a Friday night wondering why there wasn’t anything to do. Same old story.

The difficult truth I learned eventually was that the world owes you nothing. So if you’re going to wait for Los Alamos to provide you with something to do, you’ll be waiting a long time. Like, until you’re old enough to reflect back and wonder why you wasted all that time when you were young, bored, and restless and could have been doing something for yourself. Like mastering a skill (I so wish now that I had applied myself more to guitar when I was a teen) or learning another language (man, if I had kept up with Spanish it would be so great to be fluent in it now) or finding ways to provide time and energy to others (our happiness and self-esteem rise in direct proportion to our generosity toward others).

Do you make an effort to acquaint yourself with other teens, or do you just dwell within a small circle of friends? Everybody has a story to tell; invite people outside your circle to share theirs with you. Open yourself up to other people’s lived experience, which can teach you a lot. Build your empathy and compassion toward others — the world needs a lot of that right now. Find the bravery to be vulnerable with others, even if it makes you that target of some snarky tweets.

There are so many things you can do for yourself that will pay off now and down the road. But — don’t sit around wishing and expecting that someone else is going to magically create entertainment and satisfaction for you. You’re on your own, kid.

Unsolicited advice from a geezer.