It's official. I am now 18, full of new maturity, a new outlook on life, and much more respect for everything around me. I don't smoke, drink, do drugs or drive at outrageous speeds, and I'm seldom naughty. Of course none of this matters to those adults who believe all adolescents are just drunk, drug-crazed punks with no respect for anything or anyone around them.

Yes, I know some teen-agers are drunk, drug-crazed punks with no respect for anything or anyone around them, but plenty of adults are in exactly the same predicament, so why are we given the short end of the stick at every chance possible?

A month ago at a video rental outlet, I was trying to rent two films (yes, there are some films even I don't own). One was Hamlet, the other was Y'Tu Mama Tambien. I went up with my card and cash ready, but was denied the option to rent either film because I was under 18, even though I had permission from my parents to rent R-rated features. The movies were youth-restricted, and no one under 18 could rent the films, even with a parent present.

While I can almost accept the banning of Y'Tu Mama Tambien because it had some sexual content, it was one of the best films of last year and told a story aimed at teen-agers that was just as meaningful as Catcher in the Rye or Finding Fish. But come on, people?Hamlet? What does this video outlet have against youth watching Shakespeare? I grumbled, thinking this 30-year-old cashier standing there replaying Dennis the Menace on the store monitors would probably prefer trash like Zoolander to Citizen Kane when given the chance to watch them back-to-back. Still I held my tongue. After all, what right did I have to be disrespectful to my elders, even if they are obviously stupid? As I left the store, I noticed a child no more than 14 renting National Lampoon's Van Wilder, but hey, it's so much more acceptable than Hamlet.

Small moments like this completely demean adolescents, such as when I asked the clerk at Borders where The Great Gatsby was located and was led to the Cliffnotes section. Yet we are supposed to grin and bear it because our elders know so much better than we do?elders like President Bush, who is preparing for war with Iraq without public support, and who is driving the U.S. into a deficit.

Now a few generalizations are being made here to drive the point home, and it's obvious not every adult is like this, but every adolescent reading this can relate to what is being said. I understand things aren't apt to change anytime soon, since these certain curmudgeons must try to hold onto their power and resist change for as long as possible. We are a young, smart generation with more potential than ever. So let's exceed everyone's expectations and show we are not just a bunch of drunk, drug-crazed punks with no respect for anything or anyone around us.