THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407150059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TEENSPEAK
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
MONEY MAY NOT be able to buy love, but it's a sure lure.
When a group of beachgoers were recently asked the Teenspeak question, ``If you could be someone else, who would it be?,'' they all wanted to be someone rich.
Pro sports heroes were most loved by teens, with both Michael Jordan and Frank Thomas labeled as the ``perfect'' someone else.
Although soccer is his sport, Tye Laffkas, 18, a rising sophomore at Virginia Tech, said Jordan is the man. ``Just to be able to jump that high and do those things . . . it would be fun,'' he said. ``I'd also love to have that much money.''
Besides the skills and the cash, good character is important to Tye. ``Everyone likes him,'' he said. ``He's well-respected.''
Quentin Hardy, 14, a rising sophomore at The Maret School in Washington, D.C., had the same reasons for choosing Thomas, first baseman for the Chicago White Sox. But charm wasn't enough to wow Quentin. ``I like to travel and I like to play baseball,'' he added. ``Plus, you make a lot of money. That's not bad.''
Although she's not sure which one, 15-year old Nicole Cobb, a rising sophomore at Cox High School, said she wouldn't mind being a professional surfer.
``I just want to go to the beaches,'' Nicole said. Australia, Mexico, Indonesia and Europe would top her list of surfing visits.
Hanging out with ``really good-looking guys'' and getting paid for laying around are other reasons Nicole envied the pro surfer life.
Besides being rich and athletic, teens were also interested in becoming well-known and well-liked entrepreneurs.
Jamie Grimes, 15, a rising junior at First Colonial High School, said she wouldn't mind sporting the Reefs of Rob Kemp, owner of Ultra-Lite Surfboards.
``I think it would be a killer job to own your own shop,'' Jamie said.
Although surfing is his first love, politics won the heart of 16-year old Corey Rodgers, a rising junior at Ocean Lakes High School.
Corey, an avid surfer of three years, said he would like to be President Clinton, so he could clean up the beaches. ``If you look at the beach, it's just trash,'' he said.
While wearing another face sounds thrilling to most, 18-year old Shannon Murphy, a 1994 graduate of First Colonial High School, just wants to be herself, but famous, too.
``It looks like (famous people) pretty much just have fun,'' she said. ``They get to do the things they love to do and they just happen to make good money for it. Besides, I can't imagine having a real job.'' by CNB