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Community Corner

Teen's Take: Lorton is Lacking

Our resident thinks Lorton could use a shot in the arm

As far as providing activities for teens to do, Lorton does not have a lot to offer. The closest movie theater or mall is well over walking distance away, so those of us who can’t drive (like me) have to make the best of the options right here in Lorton. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Lorton, Virginia isn’t exactly known for its tourism. You don’t hear anyone saying “Hey lets go to Lorton Virginia for vacation!” 

A typical day after school most teens just get a group of people together in neighborhoods, houses, or shopping centers and try to come up with anything (and when I say anything, I really mean anything) to fill the inevitable void of boredom.

Companies could offer a place for teens to have fun and hang out should be jumping at the chance to conquer Lorton suburbia. So why haven’t they? There is certainly a market for it, and it could also solve the problem of, “we’re bored so we’re just going to do stupid stuff and hope we don’t get in trouble.”

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Having a place where teens could have fun right here in Lorton has so much potential to benefit the community. Teens would have a place to go instead of getting into trouble, and if teens are doing something then there is a significantly less chance of teenagers making stupid decisions out of boredom.  Not to mention the jobs that a business like this could create. Instead of overcrowding land with houses that are way too close together, Fairfax County (or whoever is in charge of these things) should invest in providing a place where teens can do something rather than sit around eating bags of popcorn and watching horrible mid-day television.

Anything from a bowling alley or diner, to something much larger like a mall or movie theater could have the potential to improve life for not only the teens, but also for everyone else in the community.      

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