Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Be A Teen? No, Thanks

I realized today that there is a major reason that I'm happy not to be a teenager anymore. Dick Clark may want to be and profess to be ageless, but I, for one, am perfectly happy to be who I am at this age. I do not have to be concerned in any way with what people think of me: this separates me from teens by a huge gap.
Two examples made that clear today. We were dressing more warmly to go outside for class. A 9th grade girl asked to borrow a sweatshirt because the one she brought didn't match her sweatpants. She preferred a used sweatshirt from my "take one for today" pile to the obviously new one she had brought; I repeat, SHE had brought. Suddenly, it was not what she really needed to keep warm while running outside playing soccer. I can hear the conversation:
"Hey, Jenny. Why is your sweatshirt gold and your sweatpants yellow? That looks gay." (yes, they actually DO say things like that in spite of our best efforts...they just won't say it in front of me). Off she goes to find something more acceptable. D'oh!
Later, another class was moving from the gym to the cafeteria to take a short test. I said, "Walk this way, please" and began a silly walk out the door. Nobody emulated the walk. I love that gag when the Three Stooges do it; I crack up every time: Moe, Larry and Curly following some receptionist and walking so goofy. Of course, they may never have seen the old shows, but when I stopped them and said, "No, really! Walk this way" and began again, a student said (thinking she was out of earshot) "Why do we have to do such retarded stuff?" (yes, they talk like that, too!)When I asked her where her sense of fun was, she replied that she didn't have one. Of course, she meant that she didn't have one like mine, but I suspect she was being accurate from her perspective as well. Being silly for a moment would never occur to teens in the presence of an adult. They refuse to be themselves, choosing to self-present instead of self-disclose. Hence, I think they lack the joy that we older folk have because we know that we will be excused for momentary lapses into silliness. Our world has a much more broad perspective than does theirs, surrounded by peer and media expectations. I KNOW I'll never be Derek Jeter or Shaq...
I'll never be Carl Hiaasen, Christopher Moore, Louis L'Amour or even Beva Plain, BUT I HAVE A BLOG.
It's all about perspective.

1 Comments:

At 4:23 AM, Blogger Jack Jensen said...

"Walk this way?" I don't get it, but I really like those Pep Boys commercials, too. Oh yeah, and "Hey, great blog. I'll come back and visit often. And if you want to learn how to spam blogs, click here." BTW: did I lose a year, or did you stop blogging? Actually, I guess I would've created a false year... My head hurts.
One more thing: you're the greatest teacher, mentor and friend ever. So, so sorry I've been out-of-touch for so long. I'll call soon.

 

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