Being the proud parent of an 18 year old son, I believe that the press tends to focus always on the negative properties of these most diverse "creatures". My son is not perfect, nor are any of his friends, but they all have unique and valuable qualities which set them apart from the rest. To my knowledge they have all been raised in diverse settings ranging from single parent mothers, single parent fathers, same sex parents, traditional families and yes, a few, in very untraditional settings. Nonetheless they all bring something extremely special to this world.

Speaking for my son, he is typically atypical. He is not a stellar athlete, but we knew this was going to be the case early on. He has a strong desire to be good at what he enjoys and to ignore that which he is uninterested in. He is a gifted actor with quite possibly the worst singing voice known to man (even after 2 years of one on one singing lessons with a voice coach), but his dramatic and comedic performances are far superior to those sometimes seen on TV or in the theater. He is NOT gay, with his life since middle school revolving around the girlfriend of the month. He is a sweet child, caring, and kind. As bad as a relationship gets he will wait until the girl "dumps" him not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings as he himself was dumped his Freshman year in high school and although this was Miss right now, not Miss right, he was crushed and knows the feeling. He is a volunteer with the local Ruriteen club in school and has held office (President X 2) and has been since early high school. Members of this club sponsor an entire family for Christmas and make sure they are well fed, gifted, and feel at least secure during the holiday seasons. They also winterize a home in the area. These homes are usually in terrible repair and in need of new windows, have poor heating systems, etc. The entire time they are doing this winterization project they are conversing with the family and including them as if they were part of the group, never looking down on them as they have less financially than those involved in the project. My son has always been "inclusive", never seeking out friends in high places so to speak but befriending those he thinks he has most with in common. He is truly a generous child. He stays away from high school gossip and is really not a member of any one group but a drop in for all groups, accepted by nearly everyone. He is a universal "player".

At home, well

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