As my time abroad is drawing to a
close, there are some thoughts that have been on my mind, recently. The ideas of individual independence and
maturity are traits that seem to be becoming increasingly scarce. Why is it
that people are proud to run back to their parents if a situation gets tough
instead of finding a way to make it work and learning from the experience? Also,
how is it that a lack of knowledge is celebrated while being intelligent is
considered shameful? And since when did people become so shallow with who they
would even acknowledge as a possibility to date? What is wrong with the youth
of today? Why is everyone so judgmental?
It’s sad to say that I’ve always
had a feeling that those about four years younger than me would wind up like
this. I had a really great friend that young who I grew up with and I listened
to her stories from school and watched the kids in her class. The behavior of
her peers is what sparked my theory that if you look at each generation, the
younger they are from me, the stupider and more reckless they get.
I guess my arguments began a couple
of months ago when all of these ideas were righteously proclaimed to me by
several people younger than me. I searched for people who knew these things,
but sadly, it seems to be lost information. I’ll start with knowledge, or lack thereof.
(I guess I should make it clear, the youth is the generations containing 19-21
year-olds that I have had the ‘pleasure’ to talk to since being abroad. Oh, and
I mean US citizens.) I have had several
instances of things I thought were common knowledge turning out not to be. Here
is a list of a few things that I thought everyone knew in no particular order:
-The story of Robin Hood took
place in Nottingham, hence the Sheriff of Nottingham as the antagonist and the
Robin Hood tours you can take if you visit.
-Pompeii was an ancient city destroyed
and miraculously preserved from volcano ash. Herculaneum is not where Hercules
lived.
-Sculptors, including
Michelangelo can draw as most sculptures start out as sketches.
-Leonardo DaVinci painted the
Mona Lisa and it a modern theory that it was his self-portrait as a woman.
-Paris is
built on catacombs.
-Speaking of catacombs, it’s an
underground burial place that consists of labyrinth like tunnels that are
sometimes redecorated with the bones of the dead.
-A labyrinth
is a maze and usually contains a Minotaur.
-The Venus De Milo is that really
famous statue with no arms. (There is a reference in the animated Hercules
movie, fyi.)
-The Hunchback
was of Notre Dame.
-A guillotine
is an execution weapon with a dropping blade.
-Tom Cruise is
a Scientologist.
-The Thinker is that statue with
that naked guy sitting with his head on his fist, thinking.
-A turncoat is a traitor. This
term came about in the Revolutionary war. Any guesses as to why?
-The
Mississippi River cuts the country in half.
-Have you ever
heard of Super Mario Brothers? Turns out, too many people haven’t.
-Anne Hathaway was the name of
Shakespeare’s wife. By the way, he wrote Romeo and Juliet.
-All
actors used to be men.
-PLUTO
USED TO BE A PLANET!!!!
-And, last and most certainly not
least, did you know that most soda back in the States is made with high
fructose corn syrup? Yeah, so did I.
Do some
of these seem too ridiculous to be true? I hope so. Then I can count you among
those who are more knowledgeable than the rest. Ok, I can give a little leeway
and acknowledge that maybe it isn’t common knowledge for some of these, but
seriously? Robin Hood is from Nottingham? No way!
What
are people teaching their kids? This is absolutely ridiculous! Why are these
people not looking up the information when they run across the fact that they
don’t know it? Also, why do people not believe me when I inform them of these
things? They argue and say things like, “Whatever, I don’t believe you. Uh huh,
sure.” Freaking. Annoying.
Now, in
my next rant, I will address the issue of independence and maturity. I feel
that (and I know the majority of my friends will disagree, just ignore them,
they’re crazy :-D ) I have always been very
mature for my age. I’ve never wanted to follow the crowd, never caught onto the
latest trends, but always followed my own knowing that fitting in wasn’t
important. I made decisions in high school dealing with my personal conduct
based on the thought that I am too young to make certain decisions and I don’t
want to regret anything I did in high school. I wanted to stay strong in my
religion and carve out a good, independent life after graduation. Why kind of
sixteen-year-old has thoughts like that? A mature one. So there, I’m mature
:-P.
Anyway,
let me give you an example and the responses I have had from several people
amongst the youth. When I was 18, I moved out of my parents’ house and into a
dorm where I lived for two years. I only lived at home during one Christmas
break and that was the last time I lived with my parents. When I was twenty, I
moved in with my boyfriend, I had a steady job, was a full-time student and had
bills to pay.
Then, when I was 21, I had to have surgery. Because
of this surgery, I lost my job and was unemployed for a few months. We
struggled to make ends meet, sometimes digging in the couch for change to buy
ramen or, if we were really able to splurge, peanut butter and jelly. Even
though life was difficult, I stuck with my man and we worked our way out of the
horrible situation we were experiencing. Now, we have been together for over
six years (will be seven this May :-) ), both of us have our priorities in order, we
work hard to pay our bills and are living a relatively comfortable life. We
know that neither of us will back out if things get rough, we can depend on
each other and know we will always be there for each other. If times get tough, then that is the time
that we should cling to each other and guide ourselves through together, right?
Apparently, I’m wrong. I was
recently informed that, in not so many words, I was stupid for sticking around.
Why would I let myself get into such a horrible situation? It was then told to
me that these people would have gone back to their mothers. Really? Run home to
mommy because life got a little difficult? Not to mention leaving your
significant other behind to clean up the mess you helped to create? What ever
happened to independence? I will only ask my parents for help in the direst of circumstances,
always trying every other avenue to bail myself out first. Isn’t that what
mature adults do instead of crying to mommy and daddy? Who is babying their
child so much that they are ruining every chance that these people have of
becoming independent? We should be raising our children to be strong adults. If
they fall, they should be taught to get up on their own, dust themselves off
and try again. Allowing them to crawl back at every difficult bend in the road
will lead to their self-destruction. They will never be able to cope with the
pressures of a real job or being an adult. What happens if they marry? How will
they provide the right care for their children if they can’t care for
themselves?
This leads me to my next point,
shallowness. The younger generations are the shallowest people I have ever met.
Did you know, if you don’t go to college you’re unintelligent, have no ambition
and will achieve nothing in your career? This is such a common thought, but it
is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Did you know Albert Einstein dropped
out of school? Is he considered stupid? How about Steve Jobs? He dropped out of
college after just one term. Is he considered unambitious?
So, because I was so
flabbergasted, I asked each of these people a hypothetical question. If there
is a waiter at a restaurant that shows you interest, would you date them?
Immediate answer, “No way!”
How about if they are the most
attractive person you have seem, “Well, if they were in college, then yes.”
What if they weren’t in school? “No.
They have to be in school for me to date them. I can’t date someone who’s
unambitious or stupid.”
Who’s to say they aren’t ambitious? What if it
is their dream job to be a head chef someday and this is the first stepping
stone to the start of that career. They could be the next Gordon Ramsey. “That’s
fine for them, but I wouldn’t date them. I can’t have a guy who has a job that
is below mine. We have to be on the same level or he has to have a better job
than me.”
How can you say that working in a
restaurant is below another job? A job is a job; they are working hard to pay
their bills. Maybe they have another job and this is a side thing to make ends
meet? Maybe they are the most intelligent person in the world, working on a new
computer in his free time, or new software, new theories, a writer, an artist? You
don’t know. You could be missing out on so many opportunities because you are
so snobbish towards people you consider under you because of their jobs. “It
doesn’t matter, you just don’t understand.”
Oh, I understand perfectly. These
people were brought up to believe that money is everything when it most
certainly is not. How can people be this shallow? I just cannot understand this
way of thinking. And so many share the thought! It’s mind-blowing. I was always
taught that everyone was equal, I am neither above nor below anyone and though some
people may act high and mighty, they are not above me and I am not below them.
You are never to judge people. These are values that seem to be missing in
others. Really, if someone can explain these thoughts to me, please do. I
simply cannot wrap my head around such shallow stupidity.
This made me think about myself a
bit. I never thought about the ‘qualifications’ a guy needed to have before I
would date them. Don’t get me wrong, I have some pretty high standards. Mainly,
they have to treat me right, they can’t be a loser (meaning 28 years old and
mooching off of his parents cause he is too lazy to take care of himself) and
they needed to be taller than me. That’s about it. Very strict, I know. I never
went through a long list of detailing the job they have to have, the amount of
money they need to make, the exact details of how they need to look. They
believe I am essentially selling myself short. How can they think that?
I always felt that I would let my
heart decide. If someone came along that kept me interested, treated me well, I
was attracted to them and fell in love with them, then why not go for it? Why
not give it a chance? Yes, I’m not going to marry a millionaire this way and I
have led an occasionally difficult life, but I have someone who is loyal to me,
treats me amazingly, loves me with all of his heart and will do absolutely
anything for me. Had I followed their rules, I would have missed out on this
opportunity. How sad that would have been.
So, I guess what I am trying to
say is this: people are stupid, people are ridiculously immature, people are
shallow. That is my conclusion. We are leaving the world in the hands of these so-called
‘adults,’ how on Earth is humanity to survive? Well, if everyone turns out this
way, maybe humanity shouldn’t. One good thing that came of these mind-numbing conversations
I have had with people is I know exactly what not to teach my future children.
That’s it. Rant Over. See you
next time!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment