sarahSKELLINGTON™

I've dealt with it for long enough that now I just want to say it all - nothing held back. I hate writing passionately like this because it tends to get me in trouble, but everything is out of hand and something should be done about it.

It's disgusting to see what the youth of North America has come to. No longer are compassion, empathy, care, and kindness traits that are commendable or common. All you see are vain, egotistical teenagers who say they know they're the hottest shit around. Not only that but the phrase, "I'm a bitch, get over it" is plastered on just about every girl's myspace page. Why the fuck would you want to be a bitch and why should anybody else have to get over it? If you've got a shitty personality don't openly admit it; work on it until it gets better. Don't just accept that you're rude to everybody that's not hot enough, cool enough, or 'scene' enough for you.

What worries me almost more than the admittance of everybody's flaws so openly and the unwillingness to change them, is that it is a gang mentality and everybody joins in. Not too long ago if somebody was rude or hateful towards another, people would step in and stand up for the victim. Now everyone joins in a takes a stab at them too. It's ridiculous.

I'm so sick of telling people to stop being so negative, or to take a step back and relax. It should be human instinct to show compassion and caring towards our fellow man/woman. How hard is it to hold back the bad stuff and just walk away? The saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all," is around for a reason. Karma will come and bite all you cocky, shallow, 'elite' kids in the ass one day and I can't wait to stand there and tell you to shut the fuck up because nobody cares. Then maybe you'll know how it feels.

Just because you've got a cute face and some extensions or show your bras and panties in your pictures does not mean you can be an asshole. You might look mighty fine on the outside but that will deteriorate over time and all that you'll have left to look back on are those years where you cared way to much about your looks and not enough about the people around you.

I'm a sympathetic person, but if you're going to start drama just for entertainment and have something shoved up your ass 24/7 then it's going to be very limited. Stop picking fights and making conclusions about people you don't know and recognize that you're making yourself look like an ignorant fool, and then maybe some of my feelings will be extended your way.

But until then you're just going to keep ruining things for the rest of us because you're giving our generation a terrible reputation.

I've centered myself around critical thinking and evaluating every issue from all sides before coming to a conclusion. Even after that I'm still open to change my opinions if the proper argument is brought to my attention. However there is one issue that I see happening daily around me that I just cannot wrap my head around: Teen drinking and substance abuse. As soon as I hear about a person's drunk/high stories all I can do is roll my eyes and wonder "Why the heck do they think it's cool?" I realize that I am being entirely prejudiced and that is the reason I am writing this, to try and address my biases and perhaps have my eyes opened.

Okay well I'll start of with a few personal stories so you can know where I'm coming from, but basically I used to have a problem where I would drink secretively by myself whenever I was depressed. I'm very glad to not have this habit anymore, for very obvious reasons. Alcohol will not solve your problems. In fact, it is a depressant. The best thing you can do when you're down is talk about it, write about it, or express your emotions in some sort of way perhaps through art. Trying to forget them isn't going to do any help, but rather pile up more harm in the long run. Please don't fall victim to the belief that you can drown out your sorrows.

Now I don't want you getting the wrong idea and start thinking that I'm a stuck up 'straight-edge' kid writing a didactic to all you heathenous children out there. I am not 'sXe' or whatever you want to call it and I'm not trying to impose my beliefs on anybody. I've been drunk before, granted only once. It was the worst night of my life and I regret it more than anything. I had sadly succumb to the pressures and the idea that going to a party is the cool thing to do. But puking up your insides, being made a laughing stock out of, and many other horrendous things are by no means cool. Sure you might meet some new people, and think you're having a good time, but what are you really doing? When you consume drugs and alcohol your brain cells are dying by the second. You may not care now, and probably won't see any effects now, but once you're free of this party-hard attitude you'll realize that there were so many better things you could have done with your time.

I mean.. what does it say about your personal relationships if you have to be drunk or high to have fun with your friends? Can you not have an enjoyable time in any other way? Plus buying these substances is draining your wallet and taking away the funds that could be put to much more useful things such as your post-secondary education. I understand that high school is a time for fun and experimentation, but it is also a time for hard work and self-reflection. You can have fun in ways other than parties, and you don't need to experiment for four straight years. Whether or not you'd like to admit it, high school is important. Universities and colleges are looking at prospective students' grades earlier than ever, and more and more jobs are requiring a bachelor's degree as a minumum for employment. Do you really want to throw away your future for a few 'good' nights?

Call me stuck up, no fun, or just plain boring, but I truly care about where I go and what I'll do with my life. I've done stupid things and realized where I've gone wrong and it has changed me for the better. I just can't see any morally justifiable reasons to go get drunk or high on a regular basis. If you could enlighten me I would be very appreciative of that, but I also hope that having read this you can see that you're not only emptying your wallet, but stunting your potential in life.