A Code To Live By

Although my children are young, I worry about their future. Teens today face tough issues and choices. The world that my kids will navigate will be drastically different than the life I knew growing up.

I’ve read that parents can make a difference by really understanding the culture in which their teen lives. Without such understanding, I might never be able to get inside my kids’ minds and understand what’s going on.

However, how on earth do I accomplish this? In a time that is dominated by everything on the Internet, such as social networking, Twitter, and e-mail, how do I help my children become well-rounded individuals?

Like any teenager of the 1990’s, the cornerstone of my morale code was based on a number of “complex” factors. Among these, the most important was a little show my friends and I referred to as The Code. Yes, my life lessons were reinforced each and every week on Fox TV's 90210.

During the ten years The Code was on TV, I learned many, many things that I someday hope to pass onto my own children:

1) The Power of the Protest

I think my friends in Beverly Hills first taught me to stand up for my rights when they banned together to support Donna Martin’s fight to graduate. Protests and petitions are really the way to get things done. I learned that friends fight for friends after Donna’s tragic inability to hold her alcohol at prom led the administration to deny her graduation.

2) Don’t Give Up on a Good Thing

Three words: The Peach Pit. If you find a place you like to hang out as a teenager, why find something new when you are in your 20’s, or even your 30’s? Just open up a “club” in the backroom or simply buy the place, so that you never have to leave.

3) Never Move Out of Your Parent’s House

Brandon and Brenda first moved to Beverly Hills High as juniors. Ultimately, Brandon outlasted even his own parents in the Walsh home, claiming it as his own and having roommates move in during college. Given the current economic climate and the downturn in the housing market, isn’t this a life plan we should all be considering?

4) Just Say No to Drugs
Donna’s addiction to pain killers, Dylan’s addiction to heroine, and Kelly’s addiction to cocaine all taught the viewing public a valuable life lesson. Drugs are bad. And, more importantly, you don’t look good when you do drugs. Think bad hair and rumpled clothes. Ack!

5) It is Wrong to Date Outside your Inner Circle of Friends

There were 8 core members in the inner circle on The Code. (If you cannot name them immediately, you should be reading this blog.) Ultimately, they all ended up either sleeping with or married to one another. It just made sense that way.

-Francesca