Simple Reflection
Highschoolers: something you can't sum up or generalize without making someone mad.
I go to a vocational highschool. It's connected to a number of local school districts, so that students from a wide area can attend it and learn a career while finishing highschool so they can get started with life earlier. It's a great idea. But, there's one problem.
A lot of people go there because they want to get away from their local school. The reasons vary widely, so I can't really give a good nutshell account, but the vast majority are for emotional reasons and not practical reasons.
This poses a number of problems. For one, most of the students are emotionally unstable and somehow selfish because of it. I'm sure all their causes are unique and personally excusable -- everyone goes through BS that unknowingly effects them. But there's one huge issue.
All the people there want someone who shares their problems. Somehow, knowing someone else knows exactly how you feel makes it seem better. A lot of them do have a problem in common: abusive parents. These parents do drugs, recklessly have sex, and otherwise just get rid of their child for most of the day with school. I've seen how awkward "Bring Your Parent to Lab" day is for a number of them, parents and children alike. I see some of these problems outside of school, too, when a parent says "no" to a leisurely outing and I'm there to see it.
What's my problem? Because of all these factors, some of the people there are very emotionally unstable. I can bet this is because of cases of selfishness on the parts of these highschoolers' parents, past teachers, past friends, etc. Present ones, too. These decisions throughout their life effected them to bring them to where they are today. It horrifies me to hear the things they talk about when teachers aren't around (it's 98% sexual...the rest somehow involves legitimately cute stuff). These people will now go off and live the lives their parents did, I bet, since that's the behavior they've learned: drugs, reckless sex, laziness, selfishness, etc.
What's my point? What you do today will effect someone. Everything will. Every pleasure you indulge in, every grudge you hold, every smile and frown someone will see or you will feel. All these things will mean different things to different people.
I understand the syllogistical nature of proving a point, and there's a sound argument in here someone, but I'd rather grope at the emotional nature of our world for moment. There are many solid points that come to mind when I try to think of scientific (that is, sociological, since this isn't fully observable) evidence of this psychological phenomenon, but I don't care for it unless someone chances to make a stand versus.
Whenever you think of someone in a negative fashion, even if it's just casually or with another person who shares your opinion, you're further degrading your personal view of that individual on topic. When you see them again, that will effect how you act toward them. Maybe you'll just not smile when you see them. Maybe you'll be too busy thinking about your last conversation concerning them, you'll forget to greet them if you talk again. Maybe if it's bad enough, you'll shrug them off entirely. We've all done it about someone, I can almost guarantee.
Other people will do this with you, too. And all this is because they're talking/thinking about you behind their back, and this effects them and you. It's incredibly socially undermining.
So, the next time you see someone who looks like a "bad" person, or someone who looks severely discontent, be aware that their life has been effected by virtually infinite stimuli, and even if you think you've known them for a while, you still don't know about their life, and judging them might cause you to think less of them.
No, I don't want anyone to take this and go play therapist with people. I just want everyone to be more considerate of those around them, whether they know them or not, and think nicely about everyone you meet.
Yeah, something like that. This is pretty far off from what I was originally thinking of, but it touches the idea I had well enough.
~Samuel
I go to a vocational highschool. It's connected to a number of local school districts, so that students from a wide area can attend it and learn a career while finishing highschool so they can get started with life earlier. It's a great idea. But, there's one problem.
A lot of people go there because they want to get away from their local school. The reasons vary widely, so I can't really give a good nutshell account, but the vast majority are for emotional reasons and not practical reasons.
This poses a number of problems. For one, most of the students are emotionally unstable and somehow selfish because of it. I'm sure all their causes are unique and personally excusable -- everyone goes through BS that unknowingly effects them. But there's one huge issue.
All the people there want someone who shares their problems. Somehow, knowing someone else knows exactly how you feel makes it seem better. A lot of them do have a problem in common: abusive parents. These parents do drugs, recklessly have sex, and otherwise just get rid of their child for most of the day with school. I've seen how awkward "Bring Your Parent to Lab" day is for a number of them, parents and children alike. I see some of these problems outside of school, too, when a parent says "no" to a leisurely outing and I'm there to see it.
What's my problem? Because of all these factors, some of the people there are very emotionally unstable. I can bet this is because of cases of selfishness on the parts of these highschoolers' parents, past teachers, past friends, etc. Present ones, too. These decisions throughout their life effected them to bring them to where they are today. It horrifies me to hear the things they talk about when teachers aren't around (it's 98% sexual...the rest somehow involves legitimately cute stuff). These people will now go off and live the lives their parents did, I bet, since that's the behavior they've learned: drugs, reckless sex, laziness, selfishness, etc.
What's my point? What you do today will effect someone. Everything will. Every pleasure you indulge in, every grudge you hold, every smile and frown someone will see or you will feel. All these things will mean different things to different people.
I understand the syllogistical nature of proving a point, and there's a sound argument in here someone, but I'd rather grope at the emotional nature of our world for moment. There are many solid points that come to mind when I try to think of scientific (that is, sociological, since this isn't fully observable) evidence of this psychological phenomenon, but I don't care for it unless someone chances to make a stand versus.
Whenever you think of someone in a negative fashion, even if it's just casually or with another person who shares your opinion, you're further degrading your personal view of that individual on topic. When you see them again, that will effect how you act toward them. Maybe you'll just not smile when you see them. Maybe you'll be too busy thinking about your last conversation concerning them, you'll forget to greet them if you talk again. Maybe if it's bad enough, you'll shrug them off entirely. We've all done it about someone, I can almost guarantee.
Other people will do this with you, too. And all this is because they're talking/thinking about you behind their back, and this effects them and you. It's incredibly socially undermining.
So, the next time you see someone who looks like a "bad" person, or someone who looks severely discontent, be aware that their life has been effected by virtually infinite stimuli, and even if you think you've known them for a while, you still don't know about their life, and judging them might cause you to think less of them.
No, I don't want anyone to take this and go play therapist with people. I just want everyone to be more considerate of those around them, whether they know them or not, and think nicely about everyone you meet.
Yeah, something like that. This is pretty far off from what I was originally thinking of, but it touches the idea I had well enough.
~Samuel
Labels: Christian Witness, Common Nonsense, Musings
posted by Sam Ignes at 12/21/2010 04:11:00 PM
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