the hype
Monday, April 30, 2007 9:18 PM
[I'm reffering to "teenagers" in this blog as young adults 15+ - people who are becoming their own person but still legally bound to their parents rule]
the common misconception about teenagers is that they dont know what they want. while this is true for SOME teenagers it is also true for SOME adults, so teenagers should not be so easily generalized with this. if you stopped telling them what to do: who to hang out with, where to go, where NOT to go, what to learn, how to act, what NOT to wear, play sports, sing in the choir, join the youth group, dont talk on the phone too much - you would actually be surprised how much teenagers DO know what they want. why would you expect them to know what they wanted if you kept telling them what you wanted for them. I still believe parents should be legally responsible for their kids by making sure that they dont do drugs and have the proper birth control, I'm not talking about saftey here.
what I AM talking about it stereotyping. I hate it when I hear someone say "you're 16! you can't be in love." I didnt know love had an age limit... If a 16 year old can go to school everyday and learn 6 different areas of academics, be expected to learn those 6 subjects well, hold a part time job of their choice, maintain a social life with the hundreds of different people they are forced to sit next to everyday, participate it numerous differnt activities during the week such as church, youth group, musical groups, or sports, AND try and please your parents who just want you to be perfect at all 49875 of those activities you SHOULD KNOW what you want and WHO you want to spend the rest of your life with. again, YES, some teenagers are promiscuous and fickle with their relationships BUT they do not outnumber the adults that share the same habits.
I am MORE than capable to be discerning in my own life in what I do/dont do and I have so many examples of what love does not look like. my parents showed me growing up that you can't give up. you can't give up on dealing with stuff and push it down inside you whichever way that might be. you have to open up and address the problem areas in your relationship no matter how hard or painful that might be. and they also taught me that you can't give up on each other. no matter what love is ultimatley a commitment you make, a commitment that says "even if this gets really sucky I will always try and I will always forgive you, and I will never stop giving." my brother and Jody have taught me that even when your plans fall through you need to be there to support each other. that even when you have your own goals in life and so many dreams that you've always had you might need to push those to the side for a while and focus on your priorities. and no matter what you need to keep thinking of the other person. I have never met a married couple who has had no issues, who has never had at least that one major thing that they are always working over. for some it is an affair, for some it is money, or for some it is work, but no one is perfect.
in the end I guess this blog is about me. I have a lot of anger towards a lot of people and I dont want to, but mostly I want people to stop stereotyping me as a teenager, because I am more than that. I want people to start looking past Matt's age and see his heart, his and mine. our hearts that our committed, our hearts that say we are young and we are willing to learn from you. our hearts that say we know we love each other.
the common misconception about teenagers is that they dont know what they want. while this is true for SOME teenagers it is also true for SOME adults, so teenagers should not be so easily generalized with this. if you stopped telling them what to do: who to hang out with, where to go, where NOT to go, what to learn, how to act, what NOT to wear, play sports, sing in the choir, join the youth group, dont talk on the phone too much - you would actually be surprised how much teenagers DO know what they want. why would you expect them to know what they wanted if you kept telling them what you wanted for them. I still believe parents should be legally responsible for their kids by making sure that they dont do drugs and have the proper birth control, I'm not talking about saftey here.
what I AM talking about it stereotyping. I hate it when I hear someone say "you're 16! you can't be in love." I didnt know love had an age limit... If a 16 year old can go to school everyday and learn 6 different areas of academics, be expected to learn those 6 subjects well, hold a part time job of their choice, maintain a social life with the hundreds of different people they are forced to sit next to everyday, participate it numerous differnt activities during the week such as church, youth group, musical groups, or sports, AND try and please your parents who just want you to be perfect at all 49875 of those activities you SHOULD KNOW what you want and WHO you want to spend the rest of your life with. again, YES, some teenagers are promiscuous and fickle with their relationships BUT they do not outnumber the adults that share the same habits.
I am MORE than capable to be discerning in my own life in what I do/dont do and I have so many examples of what love does not look like. my parents showed me growing up that you can't give up. you can't give up on dealing with stuff and push it down inside you whichever way that might be. you have to open up and address the problem areas in your relationship no matter how hard or painful that might be. and they also taught me that you can't give up on each other. no matter what love is ultimatley a commitment you make, a commitment that says "even if this gets really sucky I will always try and I will always forgive you, and I will never stop giving." my brother and Jody have taught me that even when your plans fall through you need to be there to support each other. that even when you have your own goals in life and so many dreams that you've always had you might need to push those to the side for a while and focus on your priorities. and no matter what you need to keep thinking of the other person. I have never met a married couple who has had no issues, who has never had at least that one major thing that they are always working over. for some it is an affair, for some it is money, or for some it is work, but no one is perfect.
in the end I guess this blog is about me. I have a lot of anger towards a lot of people and I dont want to, but mostly I want people to stop stereotyping me as a teenager, because I am more than that. I want people to start looking past Matt's age and see his heart, his and mine. our hearts that our committed, our hearts that say we are young and we are willing to learn from you. our hearts that say we know we love each other.