I think it's interesting how the qualifications for being "cool" has changed over the years. My dad was just saying how when he was a kid, wearing socks with sandals was the most dorky thing you could do. Nobody ever did that, and if you even considered wearing tall black socks with sandals... well you might as well commit social suicide. Thirty years later, you're considered one of the attractive athletic kids for pulling that off. For a while it was the thing to smoke, and now you're a reject dropout if you pick up a cigarette. It also used to be cool to be snobby and stuck up towards people of lower class or different races, now you're shunned and stripped of any titles for making such comments. So my question is, how does America justify these things when they're in and then later decide they no longer meet the standard of popularity? I never in a million years would consider egging my friends' houses, but when my house got egged by my own teammates who thought it was funny, I realized how blind I was to what is considered fun by the in crowd today. What makes that funny? Who said that vandalism is funny, and that it's okay? If teenagers decided it was socially unacceptable to pull such pranks, would my teammates still have done it? Or would they have not because it wasn't popular? I ask these questions because I don't know the answer, and I don't think anybody really does. As society ages, so do the social norms. Each generation gets to choose their legacy. We get to decide if being hurtful and disrespectful is cool or uncool. Deep down every teenager knows what's right and what's not. We all have to decide which is more important to us though: being popular or standing for what's right. Each generation screws up and makes mistakes, our grandparents did it, our parents did it, and now we're doing it. We push the limits to see what we're capable of, and to see how our voice can effect society. Our likes & dislikes, our mistakes & successes are what shape the social norms that will define our generation. At some point, somebody who was respected took something geeky like wearing socks and sandals and turned it into something totally different, something popular. We all have more of a say than we want to admit. Even though we're only teenagers we have the power to influence our culture in a large way. It's to up to us how we'll use our voice.
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I love your writing. You dad and I were laughing as we read about the socks and sandals! Soooooo true. You young ladies are making a difference and you do have a voice. God is sovereign, He is working and his plans are good! Keep your eyes up and fixed on Jesus! He loves and adores you both! 💗
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Keri
9/10/2017 04:15:44 pm
Keep strong and making a difference in your world! At home, at school, in the pool, etc. it all starts with someone deciding to buck the system and do what they know is right. And you have the power and values of Christ on your side which makes all the difference!
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"Choose everyday to forgive yourself. You are human, flawed, but most of all worthy of love."
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