Being cool.
Last Monday, there were a group of teenagers in the van. Two guys, one girl. They were chatting animatedly to each other and teasing each other and talking about other people they knew. At one comment, the girl laughingly flipped off her companion.
I'm not exactly scandalized by this, it's a normal thing nowadays. But that's the thing--it's a normal thing now and I don't like that. There was a time when people were more reserved in their manner. They weren't stiff, they just wouldn't openly make obscene hand gestures. Then again, maybe those things happened then too, just not in my crowd.
I wonder what these kids are thinking. Obviously, they don't see it as a big deal. But I wouldn't want my kids to act that way then they reach that age. It's not cool. It's crass. I wonder what counts for cool these days. I guess when you're young, you would find it cool to break rules, to be someone who won't let anyone treat them like kids, to exercise a kind of independence. It's cool to be bad.
People outgrow that though. Independence is still cool, it's called being self-sufficient. And once you can take care of yourself, it's even cooler to be able to take care of other people. Thinking of others is cool. Observing traffic rules, keeping your surroundings in order, organizing your life--those are pretty cool. Being mature is extremely cool.
Then there are those who don't have everything figured out. That's okay. If you keep searching, if you don't let yourself stagnate, you're still cool.
I wish everyone would try to be the good kind of cool.
I'm not exactly scandalized by this, it's a normal thing nowadays. But that's the thing--it's a normal thing now and I don't like that. There was a time when people were more reserved in their manner. They weren't stiff, they just wouldn't openly make obscene hand gestures. Then again, maybe those things happened then too, just not in my crowd.
I wonder what these kids are thinking. Obviously, they don't see it as a big deal. But I wouldn't want my kids to act that way then they reach that age. It's not cool. It's crass. I wonder what counts for cool these days. I guess when you're young, you would find it cool to break rules, to be someone who won't let anyone treat them like kids, to exercise a kind of independence. It's cool to be bad.
People outgrow that though. Independence is still cool, it's called being self-sufficient. And once you can take care of yourself, it's even cooler to be able to take care of other people. Thinking of others is cool. Observing traffic rules, keeping your surroundings in order, organizing your life--those are pretty cool. Being mature is extremely cool.
Then there are those who don't have everything figured out. That's okay. If you keep searching, if you don't let yourself stagnate, you're still cool.
I wish everyone would try to be the good kind of cool.