The Real World

Negativity.

It threatens to engulf our minds. It is present when you turn on the television. Open up a book. Pick up the telephone.

We've trained our minds to predict bad news. Yet the bad news still ruins our days and the good news never shocks us. We resent good news. It is never enough for us. A teacher will never email your parents to tell them you are an individual with good character. They will email your parents because your fourth marking period average has taken a dip.

We live in a society where a polite person is met with raised eyebrows. But we can't stop talking about the lady who was rude to us at work today. No matter how many have been kind, the ones who have been less than it always make a bigger impression on us.

Do you ever want to scream "That does not make me any less of a person!"?

As teenagers, it often seems like the only thing we can is tear down the nice people we used to be when we were young. People automatically assume the worse. We will never be able to build character until we are at least 23 years old.  Our years are shrouded with negativity and judgement. Yet the answer is always "Kids these days!". Well, guess what? The adults built the world that teenagers live in today. The mistrust of adults is the reason I can't go into a boutique without the owners watching me like a hawk. Because I'm in high school, I'm deemed untrustworthy. As arrogant. As spoiled. 

"You don't know what the real world is like".

What the heck is the real world? Is it one full of prejudice and dishonesty? Is it a selfish one? If the real world is like the atrocities and the hate I hear about on the news, I do not like the real world. We are told the sky is our limit when we are in elementary school, but then people look at us like we are crazy when we are in high school for admitting the things we dream of.

Why is the cutoff age for dreams ten years old?

I am not stupid. I am not immature. I am not a child. I am not an adult. I am my own person. My mistakes do not define me. My brightest moments do. The things that make me smile define me. The things that make me feel alive define me. Because you know what? I listen to classical music. And dance music. 

My real world is my world. The way I see it. What I do in it. Plain and simple.

Yours the ever dramatic,

-Hamna