‘Rough day?’, ‘Yeah, just a bit’, ‘fancy a drink then?’, ‘Go for it. Give me anything strong’- These are the words you may expect to hear from a city businessman after a heavy day’s negotiations, or perhaps the discussion between a stockbroker and a barman just after a fall in the market. However, these are not the words you expect to hear from a 17 year old chatting to a friend on a Thursday night. Teenagers have always been a mystery to society, but only now are they really starting to draw concern. No longer is a bad day dealt with popcorn and a movie, nor is it dealt with by a good heart to heart with someone close to them. Today, teenagers turn to that which cannot judge them, often resulting in the use of drugs and alcohol.

The pressure on young people is immense. Pressure to succeed, to stay on ‘the right side of the tracks’, to choose the right friends, to choose the best university, the list is endless. Between the wealthy and the disadvantaged, one thing they definitely have in common is the need of support when making these decisions. Unfortunately, it’s more common to find the opposite and the gap between students and mentors is growing larger. They find the pressures too great and either drop out and loose heart or turn to suppressing their worries. In the academic world, I’ve experienced the latter is what affects most. With the pressure of driving parents and the need to be the best, more and more of the people around me turn to drinking, not only once on the weekend, but also during the week. The isolation young people face means that asking for help is a no go, and the perception of ‘I can do it myself’ drives them to keep up the tough exterior, while inside they’re struggling. Leaders and politicians have all asked what can be done to solve the drinking problem among England’s youth, cracking down on I.Ds and stricter checks when traveling, but this hardly eases the problem. In fact, this just creates a more estranged feel between youth and the rest of the population. What really needs to be considered is the reasons why young people choose to drink. Not because it’s sociable, or because it’s fun, but when alcohol is used as a way to escape, it means they’re unhappy. To be honest, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take a degree to understand that. If there are issues facing them at home or at school and they don’t have anyone to confide or trust in, what else can we expect?

This is what iCare is about; the emotional well-being of teenagers in London. A 16 year old is too young to know what it feels like to over dose and a 14 year old should not have to be rushed into hospital after a night of binge drinking. Legally, they are still classified as children, and thus they shouldn’t be abandoned by society to ‘find their feet’ alone. As necessary as it may be, it is also important for them to grow up without the cloud of a hangover interfering in their studies, or being so drunk that they cannot recall the weekend. A revolution is needed. One that will fix the dent society has created within itself. This cannot be done by governors but rather is an issue for mentors and young people like you and I, those who can relate and shine a light out from the darkness youths experience. I’d like to call this Plan, Bottoms-up bringing young people to realise there is a lot more to being a teenager than just drinking it away. . . .What do you choose?