TEEN SCENE
Welcome to Teen Scene. Each month, our young
authors write, in their own voice, stories that will
educate and inform fellow students and parents. If
you are a teen who would like to write your story,
contact The Journal. We’ll help you polish it up, so
don’t worry, let’s just get to sharing.
This month’s author is 17-year-old Amelia
Buthorn, a senior in Middletown High School
South. Red, white and blue has returned with
the summer season as people celebrate Flag Day
and the Fourth of July. We have been through
a lot as a nation, and this year, independence
and citizenship is even more meaningful
than ever before. Amelia Buthorn knows a lot
about those values. She was recently awarded
the Daughters of the American Revolution
Good Citizen Award. She impressed the
timed essay, but more importantly she
established herself as role model for good
citizenship. Amelia lives her daily life as a good citizen and
As Americans, our responsibility to act as good citizens is emphasized
more than most countries. America serves as a beacon of hope
for many, a country where good prevails. We are taught that if we
live up to these high expectations and act with kindness and respect, we
will reap the rewards of our actions. I take these duties seriously in my
own life and try to make as many decisions as I can with the conscious
goal of helping others. I am able to recognize the fortunate life I have
lived this far and use the resources I have been granted to help other
people. There are endless ways to manifest the qualities of a good citizen,
and what truly matters is everyone’s individual efforts to positively
impact their surroundings.
Personally, the main way I manifest the desire to make meaningful
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ly during these trying times, volunteering is so crucial, and it can have
a major impact on an individual’s life. This past year, I volunteered for
the Front-Line Appreciation Group (FLAG) of Holmdel and Middletown to
deliver food to nursing homes, healthcare providers, and houses of those
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being able to actually see the positive
effect my work had on my community inspired me to continue to search
showed us that there are many factors out of any single person’s control.
Being a good citizen does not require a person to evoke major, unprecedented
change. In fact, it’s often the many small achievements that result
30 JUNE 2021 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY LORI DRAZ AND AMELIA BUTHORN
in a larger effect. For instance, when
I volunteered for FLAG, I did not
supply every American with food; I
helped those in my immediate community.
I worked within my personal
parameters, and I still made a meaningful
and important difference. It
takes many people, many hours and
much dedication, but if everyone acts
as a good citizen by doing a few little
things here and there, true change is
made. Not everyone can discover the
cure to a disease or solve world hunger,
but many actions made by many good
Volunteering is not the only way
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tion, I have realized that the possibilities
are endless. Voting is another responsibility
we have as Americans and a relatively
simple one. Making an informed
and educated decision about the candidate that best
suits a person’s values in any given election, whether it
be for something as small-scale as class president or as major as the U.S.
president, reinforces a person’s values and demonstrates their attempts
to better their community through that candidate. Something as simple
and second nature as abiding by the law also shows a person’s desire to
do good. These are valuable rights and privileges, and I am motivated to
make the most of what I have been given.
Being a responsible American citizen extends past politics and our
duties listed in the Constitution. Being a respectful, well-rounded person
When a person is willing to learn and is tolerant of others, they are better
able to recognize their own privilege and entitlement and become more
able to realize how fortunate I was and educated myself more, I was even
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thing as small as helping out a friend in need is an act of kindness that
can still have a major effect. I try to focus on this aspect of my life every
day and work on being the best peer I can be to the people around me.
There is not one concrete way to manifest the qualities of a good
citizen. Everyone’s situation is different, and thus a person’s actions and
most meaningful is the willingness to lend a helping hand to others in
need, and that is often the greatest contribution a person can make to society.
As I move through the different stages of my life, the motivation of
being a good citizen will continue to be a top priority of mine, and I urge
everyone around me to make the world a better place by doing the same.
/TheJournalNJ.com