Sticks And Stones

            

                        As children, we walked around saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But as we grew up, we realized that the sticks and stones actually don’t hurt as much as a simple word does. Everything we say or do it’s like we need approval from someone, anyone, just to feel excepted.

         

 Our society has turned to sarcasm for humor, because nothing is more funny then telling the skinny girl she’s fat, or the pretty girl she’s ugly, or the talented girl she can’t do anything right, or the star quarterback that his team doesn't need him, or calling the homosexual boy a faggot. After a few of these “jokes”, you actually start to believe you’re ugly or fat or anything else anyone has ever called you. Even though they think the exact opposite of you. They think it’s okay to “joke” with you, they think it’s okay to be rude and disrespectful. Even if it hurts you laugh, because you don’t want them to think you’re weak; you don’t want them to know how much it really hurts you. It’s just easier that way right? It’s easier to just pretend. But if you act like it’s okay, they’ll keep calling you names. Don’t be afraid to call them out! They’re hurting you but they don’t realize that; they can’t fathom you having feelings because you always laugh; you always pretend it’s okay.

          

 If you’re one of those people who makes sarcastic rude remarks to people you care about; stop. More times than not, they hate it; they hate the things you call them because they feel like you don’t care, or they cherish your opinion so much that they believe you. Have you ever told that person how much you truly care about them? Or that anything you say is in a joking manor? Maybe you have, but that still doesn't make it okay. Do you realize that you could be breaking their poor soul?

            

Yeah, maybe that girl you call a slut does sleep around. But have you ever wondered why she does what she does? Maybe she started sleeping around because you called her a slut. Yes I know that’s not always the case, but that still doesn't make it right. How would you feel if someone just called you out on something you’re insecure about? It hurts, words do hurt. And the sooner we all realize that, the sooner we can all be happier.

            

Why is it okay? Why is knowing you’re calling them something rude funny? How is that funny? You have no idea what they’re going through, so stop. What if you’re the one that pushes them over the edge? One simple word, that’s all it can take. One simple word could end a life.

Dear Parents

As a hormonal teen-age girl, my parents don’t really understand me, and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. They we’re this age once right? So why don’t they understand how we feel? We never really look at the fact that we come from a different more technologically advanced era, but that really shouldn’t matter when it comes to them understanding the way we feel right?

            As teen-agers we’re expected to do so much and then get a huge lecture when we forget about an assignment or bomb a test. It is like we have all the responsibilities of an adult, but we’re still treated as adolescents; we have jobs to pay for the gas in our cars and we buy our own clothes and we drive our siblings to school, ext. but at the same time we have to be home at a certain time and get good grades. And that’s really hard to manage, especially if you also want to have a social life or sleep for that matter. We get pushed and pushed and pushed and when we finally break down, when we’ve finally had enough, when we can’t take any more pressure, when our grades start to drop, we get a huge lecture or get grounded which makes us want to curl up into a ball and cry or yell at the fact that they don’t understand how hard they’ve been pushing us all this time. There’s a point when we need a break or we will break and parents usually don’t understand that.

            I know that our parents just want what’s best for us, but it’s so hard to see it that way when we just feel pushed. High school is supposed to be fun right? Not all parents are like this, but some are. It’s hard to live up to the standards of our parents and our society, let alone at the same time. Sometimes we just need a break, or maybe a little encouragement, but a lecture isn’t going to make us want to do better. So I’ll leave you with this, parents, when your child is getting bad grades or being a teen-ager and you want to rip their head off, take a step back and think about why they’re acting the way they’re acting it may be hard but just put yourself in their shoes. It’s much appreciated.