1.15.2009
But the challenges seemed to overwhelm me.
If you are a parent of a middle/high school student- please read this with an open mind. Your generation has no clue what these kids are facing. Not to disrespect parents out there, but it's a different world we live in- and even secular culture realizes it and makes a distinction. In no time in our country's history have technology, society, and people been so accelerated and connected. Kids have porn, peer pressure and political/world views being shoved down their throat from every angle. It's not the same world you grew up in. And parenting out of your experience in po' dunk small town high school of 130 kids where everyone knew each others name and the biggest gossip was Johnny the athlete feeling up Suzie in the back seat of his dad's wooden paneled station wagon doesn't even compare.
You and I knew sex, drugs, and rock and roll- but these kids now live in a place where it's a reality in their webpages, video games, cellphones, movies, magazines, and more. They are dealing with whether or not they like men or women, if they should accept the invitation for a three way sexual encounter with their peers, what type of language should I use to tell my teacher how much I hate her, or should I just roll into school and shoot up the place because I can't process my emotions?
It's unreal.
So, needless to say I didn't handle those challenges well. I gave in to the prompting and tried a few different drugs, I loved the taste of alcohol. But I didn't share that info with many of my friends. They were big into the "straight edge" lifestyle and that would not have been acceptable. And to feed that hole for something different, something new- I turned to stealing. And so began my double life, which would turn to a triple life really quick...