Well I haven’t written in a while… believe me, it’s not because I lack any opinions but more so, that the busyness of life has required my attention. Kids… am I right?? Any whoo…. I find myself sitting here waiting until 10:30am to deliver my son to school. Why, 10:30am you ask? Well… apparently his high school received a threat of some kind. Sure, that’s a bit scary, but it got me thinking (which is never good), why do kids place so much of an emphasis on high school? Maybe I’m too far removed now, but I’m 42 years-old, right? I went to high school for 4 years, that’s not even equal to 1% of my time on this planet…so yeah… why the crap, when one is in the thick of it, is it THAT big a deal?? Kids are literally killing themselves during this minuscule season of their lives. Have we always been so short-sighted?
Follow me here, so I’ve seen each season of 13 Reasons Why, on Netflix. Save yourself the trouble, it’s like an over dramatized Dawson’s Creek but with better acting (kind-of). Any whoo… this show got me thinking, and then todays “threat” adds to it. Was I so oblivious in high school that I just never really cared to pick up on what was going on? Or, was there nothing actually going on? So the show takes place in a random high school where some CA-RAZY stuff goes down… like prison stuff… and they cram into 13 episodes all of society’s challenges into 1 high school. It’s like a petri dish of toxic humanity and it’s a bit much to watch. At least for me, maybe IT IS because I’m 42 and 25 years removed from high school… but DA YUUUMM Netflix… where did you go to school? Maybe it’s because I grew up in a BIG city, where it’s easy to find a tribe because there are literally thousands of kids in your school. It’s simple math. One, ups the population and therefore, you have a wider variety of humans to choose from. Also, in a BIG city you can be invisible if you want, now that I can’t be, I miss the anonymity. Just saying… I don’t understand why we get so short-sighted during certain seasons of our lives.
Look, I know this may seem insensitive… but I just don’t get it. I’m trying to remember me, circa 1993, junior in high school, and guys… I had NO bills, worked a part-time job, went out every weekend, hung out when I wanted, stayed home when I wanted… it wasn’t too bad a gig. I had crushes on like EVERY boy in my grade, I hung out with the people I liked best, and was polite to the people I didn’t care to meet. I made some stupid mistakes, drove way too fast and yes, I dabbled in illegal activities… what are you gonna do. But… I just don’t remember having a delayed start because of a bomb threat, or hearing about some kid getting raped by a broom handle in the bathroom. Maybe I really wasn’t paying attention. Or… I could finally say things like, “back in my day the kids weren’t as (fill-in-the-blank) as they are now”. I filled the blank in with, “wimpy” this morning while talking to my 17 year-old. Have these 25 years changed kids that much? Did my parents feel the same about me and my generation?
There’s no point to this post… I’m either old-as-dirt, or super insensitive, or completely oblivious. Whatever I am, at 42 let me be VERY clear… high school is inconsequential in the big scheme of things. Therefore, may the 14-18 year-olds of the world, just HAVE FUN! My goodness… that’s the easiest season of your lives. You’ll see. However, as all humans are prone to do, if you allow short-sightedness to command your life, then you are doomed to only see the tip of the nose on your face. Maybe that makes you wimpy, or hyper sensitive, or … human.