Keeping Busy

Most Teens in the downriver area find it to be very boring. "What is there to do? What can we do?," most teens might ask their friends. The truth is that there is lots to do in Downriver. The problem is the situations that prevent you from doing activities. There is much more to do in the Summer and Fall; rather than the Winter and Spring. In summer you can go to man made ponds like Heath Beach, or even go for a swim at the Wave Pool. You can also go out side and play some backyard football or volleyball at the local recreational centers. I do have to admit, nothing is worse than being stuck inside on a cold winter day. Winter is just depressing. Many people seem to forget about all the board games sitting in the back of the closet. Nothing beats the feeling of blowing the dust of that old board game that you used to play as a child. Spring can be a little better than winter. It all depends on that great Michigan weather. Some days it will be in the 60's and you can go throw the football outside with just a hoodie and sweat pants; but then again there are the days that feel like it's below 0 degrees outside. All you can do is be miserable. There is always something to do where every you are. Next time you feel bored, try to be creative and attempt to do something constructive.

The Positive Look.

The youth of Downriver typically says, " I hate Downriver; there's nothing to do here." Well this could be considered to be a bad thing. However, Downriver has plenty of good to offer. The most important is the fact that nothing bad ever happens here. The police blotter typically consists of just juvenile members of the community committing misdemeanors like penny theft. This makes the members of the community feel safe. Another quality aspect of Downriver is the tightly knitted communities. It is safe to say, " Everyone knows everyone." The reason is because each city has strong interaction with each other, and many members of the community are from here. Building on this idea, the individual city pride is extremely strong. As a former athlete at Trenton High School, nothing was better than suiting up and playing a neighboring city. It was awesome to practice all week focusing on being the superior city of Downriver. High school sports is one of the best parts of Downriver is without a doubt; it is a tradition that is passed down from the older members of the community to the younger ones. I remember selling various goodies or boosters for my sports teams. This was an exciting experience going door to door. The reason is because of all the stories to be told. It was always so great to hear, "You're here with the football team, I was a captain of the 1974 team." It was moments like that which made me feel proud of what I was doing. Summing up Downriver, it is a truly great community because of its safety, tradition, and interaction with each city.

Stereotypes of Downriver Michigan

Stereotypes are commonly held public beliefs of specific groups or organisations. I like to think that the Downriver is very diverse. There are many different ethnic groups, culture, religion and generally specific ways that people like to live.There are so many different types, it would be near impossible to cover all of them. I see the Downriver as a blend of groups around each other. There are some places they can be segregated; but there are many places that are equally blended. Detroit is a common example of a segregated area in the Downriver. 80% of Detroit has African American residents. The Downriver seems to have a great variety of religions. As read in the article,

"http://www.city-data.com/states/Michigan-Religions.html," Roman Catholic members are one the dominant percent of religion in lower Michigan. There are religions such as Jewish, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and many more. Certain places in lower Michigan have different cultural populations. For an example, Dearborn has many middle eastern people for their population; while Trenton, Riverview, and Wyandotte, have many Polish, Italian, and Germans living together. People even classify them selfs by their social economic status. Rich people own the big properties while the non-wealthy live in cities with run down schools. A big stereotype being looked at right now in lower Michigan is the homeless. With the economy going down the drain, the homeless rate of lower Michigan is skyrocketing. This is increasing crime rates, and decreasing the amount of healthy people living downriver.http://dsimmer.com/2009/02/1/detroit-homelessness-economic-meltdown. This is truly sad.

Teens of the Downriver Michigan Community

Out of the many communities that I had to choose from, I chose the one that I feel is most important for our future. The community that I will be talking about over the course of this semester will be, "Teens of the Downriver Michigan Community." This is a huge community. I think that there will be many things to write about with this community. I am hoping it can relate to many people in the downriver community. I am proud to be a part of this community. I feel that this is my home. This is my territory that I grew up in.By the name ,"Downriver," I am referring to a vast amount of people scattered all over lower Michigan. Teens that grew up going places like the Metro Park wave pool, or even Elisabeth Park in down town Trenton. In my mind I see downriver as average. I see it as quiet; but very upbeat.

I am a part of this community and I believe that it is a great place to grow up. In most places there is little violence, and there are many city wide opportunities to expand your developing mind in great schools. Where there are good things in life, there are also bad things lurking around. Drugs are a schools main issue. But is there any non-drug public school in Michigan? I am glad that I have chosen this community that I am apart of. I know I will have a good time studying it.