By Kara-Leah Grant
Its the time in ones life where the excitement of emerging opportunities is tempered by the continuing constraints of home life.
Its the time when you still dont know who you are, or who you want to be, but you know you dont want anyone else telling you their answers, especially your parents.
Most of all, its the time in your life when you suddenly feel all grown up, but everybody else thinks you are still so young.
For Whistlers teenagers, its a time when they still appreciate all the wonderful things about growing up here the mountains, the powder, the active lifestyle, the fresh air, the forests, lakes and mountains, and the joys of small town living, like safety and community.
But its also a time when Whistlers homogenous culture, the constant influx of tourists, the Disneyland atmosphere and the sensation of being trapped inside a bubble create a suffocation that weighs on teenagers and encourages thoughts of escape to the much bigger world out there.
These are the thoughts a group of Whistlers graduating students shared one Friday afternoon during last period on a perfect spring day. Only three of the students are recent arrivals in Whistler, most of the rest have been here since birth. Their discussion of growing up here is like any other discussion of life in Whistler it centres on affordable housing, career opportunities, monster mansions and tourists.
The teenagers are very aware of the reality of the town they live in and their comments are thoughtful, and thought provoking, revealing a world far removed from the stereotypes that have crept up around Whistlers high school students.
They say a big part of being a Whistler teenager is the weight of media scrutiny that rests upon a number one resort and Olympic venue. Whistlers party town image, which lingers despite the increasing push to make Whistler more family-friendly, combusted with a sensationalized report in the national media last year, and led to an erroneously held belief that drug use was a problem at the school. It wasnt true, but long after the media moved on, the students were left to deal with the aftermath.
"Whistlers (adult) party scene may be full of drugs," says one student. "But this high school is probably cleaner than most schools in the city."
The students and teachers at the school were frustrated at their inability to fight against the negative impression the report left. But untrue stereotypes dont only spring from misleading newspaper reports. The towns high profile also feeds into the problem.
"There is such a stereotype about Whistler," says one student. "When I go down to Squamish, people dont call me by my name, they just call me Whistler."
Its the unintended by-product of creating and carefully cultivating a successful resort brand name. The word Whistler now carries certain connotations that these teenagers, hometown Whistler, will never escape.
"As soon as you say youre from Whistler, people assume youre rich, snobby and either a superstar skier, or a superstar boarder," say the students. Like all of us, teenagers want people to judge them for whom they are, not where they come from. Its a slight teenagers are especially sensitive to because adults already judge teenagers just for being teenagers. "The worst thing about being a teenager is the way adults treat you, because they think youll do something irresponsible," says Rebecca Kleinman, 17. "They dont even know you as an individual."
Its not just the brand image of its name that creates the Whistler stereotype; its the reality of living in a town immersed in the alternative sport world.
"Whistler attracts the best sporting talent from every small town in Canada," says one student. "So when you live here, you feel like youre expected to live up to that standard."
The students say these stereotypes surrounding Whistler teenagers are one of the worst things about living here, but this pressure is tempered by the advantages of living in a resort town. One advantage is the la-la-land type vibe and small town community feel the town still manages to retain, an advantage everyone agrees helps them feel safe in Whistler.
"Even at night, when Im walking in the village, there is always someone around that I know, I always feel safe," says one student. "You always bump into people you know, wherever you go." While some of the girls say they wouldnt walk the valley trail alone at night, its fear of bears, not fear of people, that keeps them away.
The most obvious advantage most outsides would cite about Whistler-living is the advantage the students are the most blasé about. One of the recent arrivals sums it up perfectly. "Before I lived in Whistler, I would ski anything, no matter how icy it was," she says. "Now I only go up on a powder day, when I feel like it. You get jaded to the mountains."
Jaded or not, the students still voice their concerns over the increasing price of a seasons pass, pointing out that university students in the city can buy cheaper passes than they can.
When the discussion turns to cost of living, it also turns to life plans, and its clear the disadvantages of living in Whistler outweigh the advantages for this group of graduating students.
Like most teenagers in small towns the world over, Whistlers graduating class plan to get out and seek their fortune. Small towns will never stop their youth from journeying, but Whistler is different from most small towns, where only some youth leave for study, work and travel.
Here, nearly all of the graduating students say they plan to leave town, chasing dreams and adventure as they study, work and travel all over the world. Almost half of Whistlers out-going teenagers dont expect to come back to Whistler to live and those who do, worry they may not be able to stay.
"I absolutely wont live here as an adult," says Erin, 17. "Ive lived in this small resort town way too long!"
In the constant ebb and flow of Whistlers population, it is all too easy to miss this out-going stream of people, but it threatens to wash away the foundations of Whistlers community. The students see that and understand what it means, but they dont see any other choice at this time.
Instead, they see a reality where they wont have the luxury of living in Whistler as adults, or buying homes in Whistler, or raising families in Whistler, because its too damn expensive. The battle to keep Whistler affordable for locals has already been lost, say the students.
Mark Mosher, 17, is joking when he comments; "Perhaps I will come back to Whistler to live as an adult, if I become a billionaire." But his statements comedy springs from its proximity to truth, not its outlandishness.
There are some who disagree. "I plan to live in Whistler, and find a career here, and maybe even one day own a house here," says one student. "But its only because thats what I really want to make happen that I believe it can." Her voice is the dissenting one amongst the group; her voice is the only one that still has any hope.
The other voices, while they have strong opinions about what should and shouldnt be done in Whistler, are resigned to the reality they see of growing up in a resort town. Adults can argue over whether or not its true, but its a central belief driving the choices Whistlers youth make.
The students say Whistler has been heading in this direction since they were kids and theyve never expected to be able to make this their home as adults. "I wont live here as an adult," says one student. "There is just no room for us as adults, plus housing and jobs are too limited."
Their acceptance of the situation does not mean Whistlers graduating students wouldnt love the choice of living in Whistler. They just see no point in wasting time hoping for it.
Many of the students still follow local politics and while they say they care about the decisions Whistlers powerbrokers make, their impending departures mean it doesnt matter so much to them. "I dont really follow what Whistlers decision makers are doing because Im not going to be living here much longer," says Erin. "But if I could go back in time, I would stop Intrawest from buying the mountain."
Other students say they follow what is happening because it affects their families. One 16 year old commented, "I follow what is happening and I think the decision makers are ruining our town. If I was a decision maker, I would try and keep Whistler a small, low key, resort town."
Other ideas tossed about suggest keeping Whistler affordable through population control, or preventing the building of monster mansions and requiring wealthy absent property owners to contribute financially to the community. "Our high school library isnt even open every day because of a lack of funds," complain the students. "If we made absent property owners contribute, maybe we could have our library back. People are supposed to care about investing in the towns youth."
The students believe they do have a voice in Whistlers decision-making process, but its a voice that lacks strength. "High school students do sometimes have a voice," says Sarah Mordan, 17. "But it is often distorted and discredited." After the schools experience with national media, students are wary of the way they are interpreted and communicated to the world.
Mark Mosher says he believes high school students have a voice. "But only if we are motivated enough to use it."
And therein lies the crux. Motivation is only possible with hope. And, bar one determined teenager who has her eyes fixed firmly on the future she wants to create in Whistler, these high school students do not hold out much hope of affording an adult life in their hometown. Its hard to stay motivated and work for change when you believe the battle is already lost.
This is what it means to be a teenager in Whistler to have no hope of ever living here, to be economically barred from adult life in your hometown.
As Whistler heads toward finally adopting its Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, the people whom it may most affect are headed toward making their own CSPs. Whistlers decision makers should pay attention to the life plans of Whistlers graduating class. What is a sustainable community if not a community that can give its children and its youth a reality where they can aspire to live as adults?
Giving hope back to our graduating students would make a unique graduation present. And if Whistlers decision makers cant wrap their heads around how exactly to achieve this, they should ask the students.
But if they do ask, they must also listen, and if they listen, they must also act. Asking for an opinion is polite, listening is respectful, but taking action requires leadership.