User talk:Tasosin

Gwendolyn Brooks expertly depicts the nature of the internal and external workings of the youth of her day in her poem "We Real Cool", capturing the general public's view on the growing youth, the views and feelings of the youth themselves, and adding her own insight as one who understood that the combined views of others and the youth themselves was unhealthy, less than accurate, and in dire need of change. She writes based on her sighting of some young students shooting pool in a bar during school hours:

"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks We real cool. We Left school. We Lurk late. We Strike straight. We Sing sin. We Thin gin. We Jazz June. We Die Soon."

Indeed even today, the word "teen" has slowly evolved into a label that depreciates the potential of our young and fully operable men and women within the years of 13 and 19. It has catered to a stereotype that older adults have come to understand as truth, and based on that stereotype, has given the youth themselves a shoddy sense of identity based on low expectations from others, dismissal of their potential to live above the given standards, and view that their teen years are just a time to enjoy leisure, and have no responsibility as citizens. The social clock has been set wrong, as these young men and women have been given the idea that they don't need to start "living" until they reach the age of 18 or 19 or sometimes even later. The fact that the teen years can be an internally an externally excruciating time of struggling to achieve identity, form friendships, and be comfortable as changes occur has been undermined by parents and teens alike. Many youth struggle to find who they themselves are, and strive for closure in that area by forming cliques, judging others, comparing themselves as if that would give them a better understanding of who they are and who they are not physically and emotionally. It's a difficult time, calling for change, more parental involvement, encouragement, and fellowship, but sadly, many teens have settled for less. The situation might be summed up in words similar to those within the lines of "We Real Cool", but based on the youth of this generation during this time, the words might go more like this:

"We Walk Tall" We walk tall. We Judge all. We Dress same. We Loathe shame. We Speak strong. We Think wrong. We Stare blind. We Don't mind.

Ironically, the uncaring facade the youth are seen to be carrying is much deeper, and the longer it takes for others to see that, the more damage will be done, and the more shallow the identity of our youth will become.

Tasosin (talk) 19:35, 4 December 2010 (UTC)