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[bikinisweetie89]

okaaaay so i have like 5 minutes to write. i really just wanted to post something, not that like all these people are reading my lj or whatever... but regardless. so i was thinknig about something mrs brady said, about how teenagers tend to have these depressive sides. clearly i'm not alone when i'm really upset about something, but it always seems

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[itur_ad_astra]

Haha. I disagree with you Deborah. But that's why you're so awesome.

Why should teenagers be any more depressed than adults? Don't you think adults get "pensive" or "emo" sometimes? I think that in some cases, such thoughts show maturity. Mrs. Brady seemed to indicate that such thoughts indicate childishness, and perhaps a lack of perspective.

I just think, in the teenage age group - as in all age groups - you have different types of people. There are individuals who are simply resilient and cheerful by nature; you can't say they have a "depressive" side, because in all honesty, they really don't. There are also people who are clinically depressed, and rarely ever happy; so logically, they do have a "depressive side". I also believe there is a group of people who, for their own gain, and perhaps out of spite, ACT unhappy they aren't in actuality. These kids want attention, and they think that being "emo" makes them cool, or that depression is some kind of teenage trend. These are also the kids who cry everyday in class, brag about cutting themselves, and only speak to you when they need "help". I don't think very many people are like that, but it's a phenomenon I've definately seen before. And finally, you have kids who are incredibly mature, and see death/sorrow/whatever as some sort of manifestation of the human condition, and view it poetically. I have a friend (Chris) who's rather like that - he's a genius, and he's never "depressed", but he does think about such things from a philosophical perspective.

So, are these kids ALL the same? Is the suicidal girl's depression the same as that of my friend Chris? Is the happy-go-lucky kid the same as the one who sobs in class everyday for attention? It probably seems like I'm classifying people into categories, but I'm actually trying to do the exact opposite. The point it, these kids AREN'T all the same. You can't apply one blanket statement to all of them: "THEY ALL HAVE A DEPRESSIVE SIDE". It's just not true. They may be young, but they're still human beings. Individual personality, and outlook, and perspective, will determine what sort of "depressive side" they possess, if they do in fact have one at all.

I just don't like judging an entire group of people like that. That's also why I wouldn't say, everyone you know is happy, or everyone you know appears happy and is really unhappy. Ultimately, I don't think you can make a judgement either way - like you said, it's just something to wonder about. I think the only conclusion that can be reached is that all people, ultimately, are different.

Sorry for going on in your LJ, Jenny!
I hope that kind of made sense.

[itur_ad_astra]

That makes sense. But you are categorizing people by their natures:('There are individuals who are simply resilient and cheerful by nature'). What I am trying to say is that there is no 'simply resilient' and there is no 'cheerful.' There are hints of all of those things in all personalities, but some are more expressed than others.
In SOME cases, such thoughts show maturity. However, we are not yet mature. We do not have the life experience to even categorize our own thoughts as mature, because we do not have a perfect idea of what mature is yet. Mrs. Brady's statement was a blanket statement, which of course could not be applied to every single teenager. But as you said, a lot of teenagers have 'pathetic' tendencies, and these individuals would commonly enjoy becoming engrossed in that poetry.

I still think that every teenager has a depressive side. And I think that most people will grow out of this mental confusion once they reach adulthood. Whether it is a noticeable depressive side or not, I think we all have one. I think Mrs. Brady was warning us against taking these hints of depression too far becoming the typical teenager who loves to swim in self pity and read Sylvia Plath. If you can find me one person who is simply cheerful and resilient by nature and never questions him/herself, the reasons for events, the reason for existence, etc., then I think your point will be proven. Until then, because of our multi-faceted natures, I will believe that most everyone has some kind of undeniably depressive side.

Oh Caitlin I love the fact that our argumentative natures surface so often... And this is exactly what I mean...everyone has certain tendencies which come out at certain times...depression is just one that happens to come out significantly more in teenagers.

...I think you know who wrote it.

[itur_ad_astra]

K so, Caitlin still disagrees with you.

Thanks for that bit of mental stimulation, though. Practice for MT, maybe?
SORRY AGAIN, JENNY. This is my last comment, I swearrr.