BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Just Hanging Out

So I’m just hanging out on a Friday night in a starbucks.  Or maybe it’s a Saturday night.  Or maybe it’s any night in the summer when there’s no school.  I’m awkward  and trying to fit in.  All I really want is to have some friends to sit and talk to about life… mostly my life… and their life… and the important things in life.  Like maybe how much I love or hate my homeroom.  Or my teachers… or whatever sport I’m doing currently.

Or maybe I want to just talk about celebrities… tv shows, movies… MAYBE books… ok that’s a stretch but maybe.

The problem is no matter what we do or where we go we always get told something along the lines of “you guys can’t hang out here.  You all have to buy something or leave.”

I mean, I understand business’s have to make money to pay bills keep the lights on, keep the water running and paying the rent on time.  But we don’t have any money.  Unless maybe our parents give us some.

Why can’t KIDS Incorporated be a real place?

How am I supposed to feel secure in my awkward body with my awkward friends and my awkward place in life if I can’t find a place to just be myself with my friends on a Friday or Saturday night without expecting to be causing trouble?  Maybe I cause trouble because I am expected to cause trouble?

Oh the life of a Teenager.

So why can’t KIDS Incorporated be a real place?  Why can’t there be a place like this that had events for teen agers…. Perhaps music, or some sort of fun evening program involving dancing, games or music… etc.

Well… let’s talk about this.  There’s probably two main reasons:

1: money money money.  Running ANY physical space costs money.  Rent, electricity, water, insurance, trash, staffing…. Etc.  Some how the establishment has to make money, OR have money donated, OR be funding in some sort of civic manner (taxes).

2: Mostly related to insurance and staffing of above…I like to think all people are innately good… but sometimes teenagers are expected to do things like write obscene things on walls, litter, break things, curse, runamuck, do drugs?  So, like in school and at home they must be supervised.  Logistically speaking running some sort of DRY rock club would be rather difficult.  Not to mention getting parents to trust their kids in the hands of… well who would this be in the hands of?

So what am I talking about here…

I think I am talking about something in-between Chuck E Cheese (generally meant for ages up to 12 years old) and a Dave and Buster (Target age of 33).

“Our target age is 33 years old.  We attract an older crowd than that, and families, too.”

http://www.specialtyretail.net/issues/july99/dave_buster.htm

OK so that source is dated… but it’s probably still true.

So if CC is meant for the kiddies of 0-12 and D and B is meant for 18 plus… Or even maybe the 21 plus

Where does that leave the 13 to 17 or 13 to 20 year olds?

Good question.  So WHY is it that this age range is purposely neglected in society…. So they are forced to be bumped from café to movie theater to friends basement to park swings after dark to where?

I’ve actually seen ONE place that does a phenomenal job of creating an inviting environment for exactly this demographic…

ONE single place… And as great and awesome as this place is there are three problems with this place.  I’d like to see a place like this one I’m speaking of in the real world in every town in America…

The place I am speaking of is:

Maine Teen Camp

http://teencamp.com

SO… What is that?  It’s in the name… it’s A camp in Maine for Teens.  Basically it’s a safe secure fun and fantastically creative place for teens to express themselves and be completely at home in their own selves to form strong friendships with their peers.  Basically it’s just pure awesomeness.

So what are the three problems?  Well:

1: It only runs during the summer

2: It’s small and only in one small plot of land in Maine.

3: While there are a few scholarship spots it’s expensive… again costs need to be covered.

So the question is: how does one replicate what Maine Teen Camp has outside in the real world and make it profitable or at least sustainable and as well safe and secure and a place that parents would trust to leave their teens.

I think a place like this would just be fantastically awesome.  Unfortunately I feel like this blog is a bit of a let down because I’ve been making it sound like I have the answer.  I have figured out how to make something for teens that will put the fun in functional… but I’m sorry to say I don’t have a clue as to how to make something that would fill this need.

I think I’m more writing this because I am looking for others who might have an interest in seeing something like this happen and are willing to help me brainstorm for an idea.

So these are my thoughts for this fine Friday evening in April.