Hello,
Who I am is irrelevant, suffice to say that I am an American in his early teens. More importantly, I am young.
You know when we were really little, and they fed us that crap about how we’re the future? Hell, we were too busy back then to care. It didn’t matter what would happen when we were older, as long as Pokemon and Power Rangers were still around.
But guess what.
It wasn’t all crap.
I am not a motivational speaker, hired to make you sit still in your class room and be happy about it.
I am not your parents, reminding you that you must trudge through endless hours of work to make yourself truly successful.
When I was little, just like all of us, I had my own ideas. I thought that we were all here for a reason, and that everything that happened was part of a plan. I don’t even mean that in a religious sort of way, I just liked to think that nothing I did was meaningless. I suppose I don’t believe that anymore. Not to get emo, but I’ve seen too much pain to truly believe that everything that happens has a reason behind it.
I am not a lecturer, hired to make the most mundane aspects of your life come alive for you.
I am not a priest, or a rabbi, or a prayer leader, or a monk, trained to make you believe that the only real happiness can come after you die.
I’m just me.
And I have a point to make.
The thing is, I’ve watched us. I’ve watched us for a long time now and, well, the truth is… This just isn’t working.
We divide ourselves into little groups based on the clothes we wear and the music we listen to, and we stick to them. Those of us who care enough divide ourselves even further, taking up names like “liberal” and “conservative” to account for our need to generalize our political beliefs. And then, we laugh. That’s the most important part of the teenage experience: Finding something new to laugh at. We laugh at the other groups, we laugh at each other, we laugh at those who are different, we laugh at ourselves, and we laugh at the world. And if you can’t laugh… Then you’re only going to get laughed at.
Well I’m tired of laughing.
What I’m asking is big. It hasn’t happened at least since the sixties, and I don’t think any adults expect it to happen now.
But we have to try.
What I’m asking is for us to rise above what the world thinks of us, and the way we are.
What I’m asking is for us to forget about all of our stereotypical crap, and dedicate ourselves to something more important than our MP3 players.
What I’m asking is, just this once, for us to care.
Think about who you are. Think about where you fit in, and the decisions you’ve made. Think about yourself as a little kid, and imagine every single one of your memories leading straight up to right now.
What have you done? What lives have you touched?
Think carefully.
You are not the clothes you wear.
You are not the music on your iPod.
You are not the slang you use, or whatever you choose to poison your body with.
We’ve got to wake up. The next time you see someone who needs help… Help them. The next time you see someone being a jerk, call them out on it. The next time someone tells you you can’t make a difference, you don’t need to respond. Just make it. And to do that, you don’t need to be a goth, or a prep, or an emo, or a punk, or nerd. That only makes things harder. You just have to be you.
This letter isn’t to teenagers in particular. It should be taken to heart by anyone who it applies to, whether they be in Middle School, High School, college, or older. But I feel that teenagers are the ones who need it the most badly.
Forget about all the boundaries we’ve made to pen ourselves in. Forget about your prejudices, and what society has taught you.
Be a good human.
Wake up.
Change the world.
Rise above.
This is important.
Comments
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wow. so true and many kids don't even realiza this. Your words are vary inspirational!
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I don't get this because it doesn't work this way in my school (I think it's the super strict uniform code and the whole unity thing. We're mostly malays, indians or chinese) but I like the message it brings. ^__^ Very inspirational.
In my school there's only 3 groups: (It is based on your academic achievement/talents :/)
You're either just really smart/smart & talented (which includes sports and arts) which makes you incredibly popular (unless you're a bitch). These mostly consists of what they call geeks/nerds in American schools.
*Geniuses (if present) that are mentally ill or socially inept are viewed as SUPREME. We stay out of their way but we'd be absolutely pleased if one of these actually talks to us (they tend to be loners).
Or you're normal. Normal is well, average. Most of these are hardworking but not smart enough. Or really talented (good at sports/arts) but not doing so well in their studies.
Or stupid/troublemakers. These are usually looked down upon
-__-; These consists of the ones that don't study, get into fights, bullies, steal, skip school etc.
It's the uniform thing I think...when everyone looks exactly the same what's INSIDE counts more. ^__^;
Btw, we actually find the whole labelling thing that American schools have VERY amusing indeed! You know...the whole 'nerd, popular, goth...etc.' thing. Like, we do the quiz thingy in magazines that determines which lump we belong in. The quizzes are usually very funny. ^__^
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I totally agree with this.
So many teens need to read this, it would provide them a serious wake up call. They need to realize that they need to change the world, not designer clothes or music.
I loved this and I really hope that it speaks to many people, because it did to me.
Awesome job!
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Dude, like wow. Never have i been so enthralled by such a small smount of words. I've heard about you around SW, and the things i've heard, they true! They True! Even if this isn't a story or a full blown novel, it spoke to me. I could tell you chose your words seamlesly. I saw no error. No mistake. But just a good author, trying to make a difference.
Hey guess what, i'm gonna be a good human! You've helped a fellow teen this day Xineph! I'd say i love you, but im not tht kind of guy! But i will say this:
I've Woken up!
I'll change the world!
And I shall rise above!
one million appluase smileys!!
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You have no idea how happy this makes me.
If I can reach even one person, the purpose of this letter is fulfilled. Thank you kindly. -
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A thanks is not needed at all It's My pleasure!
Am i seriosuly the only person who read this with no intent to critique you? Thats just messed up. People are telling you how well written it is, how badly this sentence was formed, and how this should have went. I Dont think you wrote this to win a trophy, or to amaze a certain member or author.
I saw a few others who looked at this the right way. But the others?
Meh, You can't save them all huh?
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Half of me agrees with this, and half of it doesn't.
The part that doesn't agree is because it knows that this is never going to happen. It's not just our generation, or the generation before us, after us, whenever. It's everyone. Speakers come to our school and show us pictures of their sister that died in a drunk driving accident, they speak through those boxes at their throat, because they were nearly destroyed in it, too. You have the speakers that are repenting, the tell you that they are so sorry. You have the speakers that are crying over someone elses mistake. And by the end of that day, How many of those hundreds of kids sitting in the stands are really and truly changed? Not many. How many are still going to continue drinking? I can pretty much guarantee 99% of the kids that are drinking, are going to keep on doing it until they make their own mistake. And maybe once everyone has made their mistakes, the world will be able to change like you want it to, like most of us want it to, but once that happens- How many of us will be left?
The side that agrees with your points says that it all begins with one person. One person like you, spreading the word. Because it spreads from you to several people here. Then from them to people outside of the cyber world and so on. Yes, it could reach everyone. But then that other side butts in again and it's telling me that people are too selfish to change. The majority of the world probably doesn't even want to change. As long as they have their popularity, their Abercrombie and Fitch clothing, they are happy. What should they care about people starving in China for? They have no effect them. The only effect will be when all of the poor labor children have died because of it and that popular Abercrombie girl no longer has her clothes. And by then, it's just going to be too late.
I want to change the world as much as you do. I wish to God that we could all be free of prejudices and work together to make everyone happy. But the fact is- we just can't. It's a flaw in the human race. Hell, it's a flaw in all races. Animals, People, plants. We're all selfish in some way. We all want, and want leads to doing whatever it takes to get that. Maybe it takes alcohol to become popular. So you drink it, and then run over someone's sister. Well, that was just the cost. Some people will do anything to get what they want. They can't even help it, it's like a mind disorder. A retarded person can't help that they're retarded, can they?
Well.
I think that I've gone on enough.
I hope you read all of that and don't hate me too terribly much for it.
But I believe in truth, and there it is.
-ASH- -
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Right then.
Well, that was pretty damn well thought out. I hope I can address all your concerns here.
I, too, believe that the human race is fundamentally selfish and flawed. That having been said, I think that what MAKES US human is our desire to better ourselves, and constant compulsion to improve on what we've already done. Mind you, I don't think this redeems us from our many, many problems and misdeeds, but I think the good should realistically be considered there along with the bad.
One thing I'd like to point out about this letter is that it's meant to be less of a message than it is a social movement. Granted, it is certainly a message in and of itself, but one could say the same thing about Martin Luther's "95 Theses" or Marx's paper on the basis of socialism. In and of itself, this piece is a simple letter. When taken from my standard, patented, arrogant-bastard-frame-of-view, it is meant to lay the foundation for a deeper social movement.
I mention this because you compare the letter to an educational or motivational speaker. This is certainly not what I want: I tried to make the letter as open and relateable to all young people as possible. In retrospect, it probably needs some revision, as it does tend to prattle on a bit, and comes off as a tad arrogant. But enough beating around the bush.
Humans - youth in particular - are social animals, and the vast majority of people are hardwired into a certain "follow the leader" mentality. This isn't something they can be blamed for, as it is as deeply rooted in many as are the urges to eat, sleep, and reproduce. My idea behind the letter (or, rather, the philosophy it presents, which I've taken to calling "Rise Above") is more in the subtext than anywhere else. In it, I repeatedly campaign against the aforementioned mentality, and encourage readers to develop their own sense of identity against the constant tides of social stereotypes and categorizations.
Now, naturally, that will work for less than 20% of people.
As I mentioned, I fully recognized the basic human tendency to conform. Here's where the subtext comes in: While that would be awesome, my goal is not to try and defeat this urge. My goal, in several ways, is to actually USE IT for the advantage of mankind. Ambitious I know, but consider:
These motivational speakers rely on the idea that each individual should not succumb to peer pressure, and will thus make the individual less likely to make "incorrect choices" such as substance abuse. And on the surface, this letter does have a similar tone, albeit with a radically different message from anything you'll see in schools anytime soon. But, underneath it all, my goal is actually to play to this mentality.
Imagine a world where good is more socially acceptable than apathy.
I see your clear, and extremely valid qualms about trying to instantly get a gargantuan, apathetic mass of young people to care about concepts like truth and injustice. But that's just the thing: I don't need a gargantuan mass, I just need a few leaders. That "follow the leader" mentality I mentioned earlier? I believe that the trends are set by those with the intellectual capabilities to choose them, which are then followed in turn by conformists. Now, obviously, no average teen is going to interrupt their trip to Abercrombie and Fitch to go work in a homeless shelter. But that's only because Abercrombie and Fitch is the norm. Imagine if kindness were the norm, and the trend-setters adopted compassion as their style of choice. To put it simply, imagine if empathy was cool. This letter needs to reach those people.
In the beginning of this response, I mentioned humanity's tendency to attempt self-improvement. And that is the core of my belief: That, as a value is discovered to be counter-productive to human happiness and progress, it is naturally phased out. This is already happening with harmful old-world ideas like racism and harmful superstition. Apathy may have come naturally to us for thousands of years but, then again, so did incest, and look what happened there.
And you know what? In my heart of hearts, I think I agree with you. I honestly believe that humanity has past the point of no return, and is probably well beyond redemption. Maybe this letter will never affect anyone, or simply not enough people to cause social change.
But by God, I tried.
And the rest is up to the masses.
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Excellent. It's about Bloody time people started to wake up! I respect you deeply for this. Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks this world is going down the drain, not just environmentally but socially. We have to rid ourselves of prejudice, and this was a great message to send out. It has so much wisdom and reality in it, yet a bit of poetry too, but it's all true, and I think it's awesome that you wrote this. Great work dude.
P.S: COME ONE PEOPLE, GET THE MESSAGE AND FOLLOW IT!!!!
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Was this a school assignment?
Just seems like the sort of things your teachers would force you to do, then you're the only person to take it seriously and not spew up a lot of inspirational poster crap.
I think it's funny that you say that "this sort of thing hasn't been done since the sixties..." It was like... a drug revolution, pretty much. I wasn't around back then, so I don't know... but I'd think that people were too fucked up to make much of a difference.
Word choice could be improved a little bit. "the ones who need it the most badly." "you don’t need to be a goth, or a prep, or an emo, or a punk, or nerd," this seems like these are the only people you encounter in you life... it's probably because that's true. You're still in highschool, right?. Try different labels... "optimist, surrealist, pacifist, christian, libertine..." something like that.
Enough of the petty crap.
This does make me think... you've got a lot of talent in that- you make people listen. It doesn't matter whether or not they agree with you, I still feel like I have to read this whole thing, know what you think and think about what you say.
I like the last line- I almost missed it because I was kind of speed-reading: "Be a good human." That ties the whole piece together. Be a part of everyone else because you're a fucking human being. I like that. No getting around it.
Great piece...
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This was not a school assignment, I did it on my own time. Thank you.
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um, like, wow!!! This has a lot of reality in it, everything you spoke of is important. I enjoyed reading this more than I can express. VERY good job!
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Wow. THis was excellent.
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This was just plain amazing. I have not met anybody my age who has thought like you, or like me. I think youre right.
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Well said.
I have one suggestion. In that section where the paragraphs start off with "I am not a motivational speaker, I am not your parents, I am not a lecturer, I am not a priest, or a rabbi, or a prayer leader, or a monk..." I'd put that middle paragraph (When I was little, just like all of us...) somewhere else. It breaks the flow (and the strength) of your repetition (I am not...). That's the only part I felt didn't flow well. By the way, a comment: do priests, rabbis, monks, etc. really try to make people believe that the only real happiness comes after you die? I don't think so. I think they try to make you believe that a _different_ kind of happiness awaits you after you die. Come to think of it, if you can bear to modify that paragraph as well, it might strengthen your piece, because it would be less sarcastic. You don't need to be sarcastic in such a strong piece as this.
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Ok...
The paragraphing stuff is all valid, but I disagree with what you said about religious figures. The whole point of those faiths is that while the happiness you achieve on Earth is frail and fleeting, the happiness you achieve in heaven is infinite and eternal. That sounds like bullshit to me.
Thanks for the comment.
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Vive la Revolution!
I only wish there was a way to make everyone think the way you do. I've seen the way people judge teenagers, and I've seen the way teenagers behave, and let me say, those judgements are unfortunately accurate so many times. There are so many teens who want to be thought better of, and who deserve to be thought better of, but they just don't show it. It's the misbehaving, unitelligent ones that attract all the attention, unfortunately. Rise above indeed. I'll try to spread the word!
~Bitter Irony
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Sing it!
Great manifesto there. Very well written, with excellent use of repetition to reinforce certain ideas. Good example of speechwriting. Also? Very true.
It isn't evil that is destroying this world today. It is apathy. -
True!
This is exactly what I think is occurring to teens these days. They let themselves get manipulated by the things they got which creates all these little cliques in schools and other places. This was great and inspiring ^_^ -
I have to say that there was one part in this that was really very inspiring. The,
‘The next time someone tells you ,you can’t make a difference, you don’t need to respond. Just make it.’
line. Being home schooled, there aren’t cliques and such like in my school since I don’t go to a school, but still this was a very very nice letter, and was very very inspired at parts. I have to disagree with you 100% on the
‘too much pain to truly believe that everything that happens has a reason behind it.’
But a miner point in a very very nice letter, a letter which I agree with at many many points and very much like, though I do believe that we shouldn't stop laughing, we shouldn't laugh at other people.
A very good letter.
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I agree we are in need of a revolution. Very inspiring thoughts you have there, good job.
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