So what do teenagers do on weekends? Do they party? Study? We asked four teens for a rundown of their typical teen weekend activities. Here are their responses.
TEEN 1
I wish that my stressful week ended on Friday afternoon with a fun and relaxing weekend, but it always seems that the stress follows me into the weekend. For me, the weekend is a struggle between wanting to complete my work and wanting to relax and have fun.
By Friday afternoon, I am completely exhausted. I pull off my uniform, slide into leggings and a sweatshirt, and sprawl on the couch, remote control or trashy novel in hand. I want to be productive and finish my homework but after five full days of school, I can’t resist the urge to do nothing. After dinner with my family, I go to bed early to catch up on sleep.
Saturday morning my dilemma begins: Do I get my homework done, or do I spend my day doing something fun? Usually, I do errands or spend time with friends, and then I come home and try to be productive.
I baby-sit once a month, and while I appreciate the income, I’d rather spend my Saturday night with friends. We usually spend the night shopping, at a basketball game, or eating out. The night ends with a group sleepover, always two to a bed (You can’t have the same late-night lights-out talks if you’re separated by a few feet of carpet!).
Groggy Sunday mornings are the worst, when I arrive home only to look in my assignment book and realize I should’ve spent the entire weekend on homework. So, I have a cup of coffee and work until I’ve crossed out each assignment. I start off every Sunday with the same goal: to get to bed early, by nine or so. And every Sunday night, I work past 9 p.m. followed by hours on the phone with my friends.
Every weekend begins and ends with the pile of homework, but the pile gets forgotten when I’m with my friends. Even though I wish I didn’t have this cloud over me, somehow the work gets done. Still, I wish for a weekend without homework.
TEEN 2
My weekends are always the same. Friday, right after school, my friends and I get together to watch the shows that we missed during the week. Around 5:00pm, we go our separate ways. Some friends go out to eat or just hang out, but I have dinner with my family. After dinner, I usually go to a school game – soccer, football, hockey, or lacrosse. My friends and I meet up there.
Once the game is over, there is usually a party going on at someone’s house whose parents aren’t home. Sometimes my friends and I go, but we usually just opt for going over to one of our houses to watch old Disney movies or Mary Kate and Ashley movies. Sometimes when we’re in a really good mood, we even go for a Laguna Beach marathon!
My group of friends usually has a sleepover. Then Saturday usually consists of homework and catching up on sleep. If I am lucky and have time, I will go to the mall with friends. It’s a great escape from my family.
Saturday night I often have a youth group program. After the program, I come home and finish homework. I try to get to sleep by 2:00am, because I have work in the morning.
After work, my parents force me to clean, which I don’t like to do. Then I spend time preparing for the afternoon youth group meeting. Sunday dinners are typically at my grandparents.
I really love the weekends. I don’t like to get drunk or high. Weekends are times to have fun, and a Friday night isn’t fun if you can’t remember it. I just choose to relax and get ready for the hectic school week ahead of me.
TEEN 3
Throughout the entire school week, my friends and I have one thought running through our heads: What will the weekend hold? Every day of the week is just one day closer to Friday.
When Friday afternoon finally arrives, my friends and I meet up at our usual spot, the house of a friend whose parents work late. With no parents around, we can talk as loudly as we want about the latest hook-ups, break-ups and exchange plans for the weekend. After checking social media, we usually find that someone is having a party. Everyone is excited to let loose, drink a few beers, and try whatever else is thrown at us.
Getting wasted is a foregone conclusion, because in general, every house turns into a huge 24-hour party on the weekend. Over dinner, we all start receiving texts from friends telling where everyone is going. Whoever holds the party provides the drinks. Now we decide what to wear. In our high school, party dress code is the skimpier, the better.
The party begins. Kids take shots of vodka and play beer pong and flip cup, desperately trying to get drunk as fast as possible. Without a thought, everyone jumps into a car to drive to the next party. Kids pass out on torn up couches, and the line for the bathroom is unbearable, whether someone is hooking up or throwing up in there. People are drinking everywhere. Beer cans and spilled vodka cover the floor, and girls chain-smoke cigarettes while dancing without regard to who is checking out how short their skirts are. Without exception, boys are smoking weed in a dark corner of the room. In the end, everyone jumps back into cars, somehow making it home safely against all odds.
At school on Monday, everyone will talk about the events of the weekend. Those who remember their nights will think of the memories, and those who can’t remember will be left in a blur. Unable to concentrate in class, we can’t help but to think, what will this weekend hold?
TEEN 4
As we walk to a friend’s house from Homecoming, everyone is talking about the drama that might follow.
We get to the house and see people in the driveway smoking. We’re not sure what. We look across the street, and it’s even sketchier than the driveway with lots of small groups of guys passing something around.
I go into the stuffy basement. Lights are flashing; music is blaring. Over 50 kids are down there. Bottles of every kind are all around: contact solution containers, water bottles, pop bottles. These bottles don’t have their normal substances, but vodka. The girls are squirting the contact bottles into each other’s mouths. Beer cans are thrown all over and people are fighting over the different things.
Dresses have been replaced with short shorts and skimpy tank tops. Everyone is dancing, joking, and having a good time. Soon we hear a huge crash as a boy goes through the bathroom door. People scream. Fifty different couples are on the couches displaying far too much public affection. They would be horrified to see themselves if they were sober.
I look back to the dance floor and see a girl face down and passed out. No one is reacting. Soon two guys flip over a couch. Girls get up on the bar and start dancing. Someone hit a light bulb and it shattered. The basement is so trashed and dirty. It looks like it will take two months to clean up.
Everything they are doing is because of how they are affected by alcohol. This group has parties like this every weekend. For them, this would be just regular weekend behavior. For me, this is just an occasional event. Sometimes, I drink, but generally I don’t. This night I just watch the crazy events taking place.
The parents are home. But, they don’t see what’s going on. All of the alcohol had been stashed in the basement before the party started. Kids are playing “death pong”. The cups are full of vodka. Two opposing teams throw ping-pong balls into cups. Each cup made, the other team has to drink. More people are passing out now. Someone is getting sick in the bathroom with no door.
I get picked up by 1 am. Most partygoers will stay for the rest of the night. This party could be any school’s Homecoming after-party.
