Cassandra Maddox

Cassandra Maddox thinks of herself as being young, but she explains why her voice should be heard.

Supposedly “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. But how about a compromise? I’d like to give an old dog, namely my step-dad, a new perspective from a younger dog’s eyes.

My family has just started a weekly circle time where each of us can speak out on issues in the house: My mom often asks us to help her with the after dinner dishes. My siblings talk about easier ways to settle arguments between us, involving computer time, the remote and who takes out the garbage. And I sometimes complain about who left their dirty clothes all over my floor. Sometimes it’s successful, meaning that we understand where each person is coming from, and agree to do something about it. There are many adults who don’t seem to want to listen to teens. They think it’s a waste of time to hear us out, like my step-dad. They get up and walk away. They use the excuse that they are older, but as Oscar Wilde once said, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”

I just wish people would work together no matter their age, because we all have something to bring to the table, even young dogs like me.