FREE ESSAY ON THE WORLD

THE WORLD

The World The world is a messed up place and we are all stuck here until our lives are
through, or until we choose to leave. It's strange that I go along with everything
everyone tells me, such as that I should ware certain cloths or listen to certain songs.
I often wonder why I do the things I do, but then I just realize that's who I am. People
are confused about why they are here and they don't understand what life is supposed to
be about. They think that they should be a certain way or think a certain way, but they
are all wrong. We should all act however we want to and not let the world influence us.
Chapter one When I was a child I thought that the world was to big for me to understand,
but I was wrong. The world is easy to understand if you're not crazy. All you got to do
is realize that no one really knows what he or she is doing or where he or she is going.
Every day that I wake up I wish that the world would change to where it was all right to
be who you really are. Instead you have got to be what the world wants you to be. Its sad
that these days a child can be left out of a certain group because his parents cant
afford the outrageously expensive cloths that the other kids ware. This may cause the
child to feel less encouraged to try in school or other activities. This is the kind of
small thinking that causes a teen to act out in violence. After years of being picked on
and labeled as a trouble maker just because of who he or she is and were he/she comes
from. Society often blames parents or television for these tragedies because they cant
admit that their own selfishness and lack of respect for those less fortunate is the true
poison of the world. I once saw a man sitting on a street corner playing a guitar with
his guitar case open. People passed him without looking or listening. Every now and then
someone would toss some loose change or even a dollar, but they still never herd the
music the man was playing. I stood and listened for about ten minutes to what was the
greatest live version of "Free Bird" that I had ever heard. When the man finished I
offered him some money not so people would see me doing but because I thought his
performance was well worth it. The man just smiled at me and declined it saying, "no
thanks, your applauds are all the payment I was looking for." That was the moment in my
life when I realized the world had it all wrong and society was blind. I was twelve years
old. Since that day I've been on a quest to in some way show the world what I was
fortunate enough to learn. I've tried in many ways to show my peers that it's ok to do
your own thing and not follow others. Often I've just been criticized for my actions and
told that I was being ridiculous, which in a few extreme cases was true, but I didn't let
that stop me. Over the past six years of my life I've crawled out of what could be called
the filth of society and established myself as an "outstanding young man" in order to get
people to notice my examples I'm trying to set. Of course I totally despise myself for
the levels I've stooped to in order to get where I am today. Never the less, I believe if
you're going to do something right u might as well go all out. So I guess by writing this
I'm trying to finalize the actions that have taken place in my life during what are
suppose to be the most important years of a teens life. Perhaps this book will help open
a few eyes and turn a few heads but more then likely it will just be criticized and
manipulated my several people that are just afraid of the honest to god truth of the
lives that we live. Yet, if it does only change one persons view on things and helps them
to make at least one decision on their own then I shall be satisfied. Chapter Two Well I
guess the best place to begin this venture into my own reality is to start at the base of
the problem. Now I know I'm treading on thin ice with this entire book so forgive me if
you get a fended by the truth. I think it all begins at home with the parents of young
Americans. You see, in order for someone to grow up with frame of mind thinking that you
should be a certain way they must first be taught to think this way. The best example
would have to be a young white middle class male growing up in the south during the rise
of the Klu Klux Klan. From birth this young man is taught to dislike black Americans for
no other reason then the fact that his redneck father tells him to. Now the ignorance of
this child's father leads him to have an unknown hatred that he will pass on to his
children (after his sister gives birth to them) that will pass it on to their children.
So know you have several generations of racist rednecks just because back in the day
their great grandfather thought it was the cool thing to do. Now take a similar situation
in modern day New York with a black family that hates whites because their grandparents
where slaves. They show the same ignorance as the white redneck that doesn't now any
better because that's the way they were both raised and they both know there is no need
for this racism against each other but there are to many out side influences telling them
otherwise. Its sad when some many differences can easily be solved if we would just take
off the blind fold long enough to see the truth, that we are all human on the same planet
trying to accomplish the same goals. Racism is a terrible thing and I could probably
write a whole book on it, but I'm not going to. My goal is to show several points in
depth yet this topic, witch is the cancer of society, is one that I choose to vaguely
touch base on then move on. So I think I've maid my point clear. If not then I shall
briefly restate it. " Don't let ignorance blind you from the truth person before you".
Another great example of the some what tragic influence parent have on their kids could
be best described using what I like to call the "Do as I say not as I do" scenario. This
shows how hypocritical parents can be in trying to better them selves through their
child's life. The best case would be a nine year old child who is scared to strike out in
baseball not because it would let his team down but because it would upset his father who
by the way never played baseball worth a damn but if you ask him he was the greatest and
his son will be to. Now you have the same kid as a senior in high school playing a game
that he hates but pretends he loves because that's just how it should be. The same guy is
also dating the head cheerleader and cheating on her with two other girls for no reason
other then the fact that his old man did the same thing in high school. This kind of
irresponsible parenting is what often causes athletes to over do themselves and miss
growing up. I've met to many teen that fill that they must devote their young lives to
nothing but pleasing their parents, instead of themselves. These are the same kids that
when cute loose at college often flunk out because for the first time they get to
experience life. They fall into the party seen and fall behind in their studies. I'm not
suggesting that parents should let their kids run free with out rules or boundaries, but
at least let them make their own mistakes and learn from them so they don't fall apart in
the real world. I sometimes find myself cursing my parents for not giving me this
attention that I've described. Yet, if they had sheltered me from the truth I don't think
I'd be the person who I am today. My parent split up when I was nine years old and while
they where busy fighting with each other my older brother was the one that thought me
about life and how I have the ability to do what I want and make my own choices. He
thought me how to take care of myself when others where to caught up in their lives to
notice what I needed. When he left for boot camp at the end of my sixth grade year I
found myself virtually alone for the first time in my life. Don't get me wrong; my
parents are not bad people. They just had their own problems and I didn't want to bother
them with mine. So after running into some trouble with the law I made the choice to
change my life and make something of it. This meant changing my friends and my bad
reputation I had developed through my tougher younger years. I got involved in sports
because I wanted to and I made some great friends that I will never lose. I also found
out that I had a great mind for helping people. This is when I first encountered the
pressure that most kids where going through with their parents. These where guys that I
had admired because I thought they had it all, a great family and great athletic ability.
I soon found out just how lucky I was to be able to live my own life. While this freedom
made me seem like somewhat of a rebel to most parents, it made me seem like a gimps of
hope to my peers. Some adults applauded me for my efforts while others saw me as a glitch
in their brainwashing scheme. Don't take this the wrong way, I wasn't like Jone of arch
or anything I was just a glimpse of what most of my friends would one-day experience. I
was the truth about what was waiting for them outside of their parents' shell that they
had been confided to for their whole lives. It's to bad that parents shelter their kids
for as long as they do. If they would only see that most kids will get involved with
sports and do good in school on their own if they would just get the chance to figure
life out on their own, and if they don't then they probably wont once they are turned
loose from their gravy chain. Chapter 3 The largest problem with today society is the
constant pressure that teens have put on them by the world of entertainment. While most
things on television aren't bad it's the little things that make it hard to be a teen. In
the days of the boy bands and the rap rock groups most teens are torn between being a
"punk", with long hair and no real fashion statement other then blue jeans and a t-shirt,
and being a "prep" with gelled hair and tight cloths. This often causes large groups of
divers people to cling to those more like themselves. In the splitting of these two
groups I've seen the best of friends turn the other way when passing each other in the
hall. Now it is possible for the two groups to coincide with each other but it often
takes a certain few individuals to bring them together. These people are known as the
peace keeps. The ones that don't choose either side, but choose to be them selves. They
are respected by both sides and give to different people a mutual friend. This may only
be my personal opinion or the way I see things at my school, but no matter where or when
people should be able to relate to what I'm talking about. Through out history there have
always been different groups of people living close to each other in society. This is
just the way the world works. Yet, in the past ten years there has been a large out burst
of "free thinkers". What I often find up setting is that in order to fit in with today's
fashion trends you have to be able to afford the more expensive brands of cloths. Why
should a teen be looked down upon just because his or her family can't afford the most
expensive pair of shoes or pants? If you had the chance to walk through the halls of most
high schools it would not be hard to pick out the different groups of kids. I guarantee
that one thing you are able to notice between the groups is the label on their cloths.
There is not much of a difference between Gap jeans and Lee jeans, except about twenty or
thirty dollars. This is enough to separate the richer class from the lower class. I say
lower class because I want you to understand that these families are not pour. They are
just your average class family that works hard to provide for their kids and give them a
home, food, and education that they may not have had growing up. When you are living on a
fixed income there is often not enough room in the family budget for fancy and expensive
cloths. This often hurts the way a teen sees them. They think they are dirt pour and they
resent those kids that have more then them. Then this builds a strong hate between both
groups because one has more and the other is just often times stuck up and doesn't
realize how they look down on others. This is the worst problem with society today. There
is just too big of a gap between classes that makes it hard for a lot of kids to relate
to each other. Chapter 4 In the previous and rather short chapters I have pointed out the
factors that I believe lead to what I call the "No Way Out" problem that most teens
experience around the last two years of high school. This problem can affect all types of
teens in several different ways. From the jock that feels that he is being forced to play
college ball like his father, to the middle class out cast that doesn't know what to do
with his life. They are all forced to work out this problem on their own despite how many
people say they can help them. What finally decides which ones are successful in life is
how they choose to handle this problem. Take the jock for instance that cant decide if he
wants to play in college. If playing ball is the only way he can get into college then he
has not choice but to do what he canned. Yet, if the only reason he accepts a college
scholar ship is because his father wants him to even though he is smart enough to get
into college with out sports, then which decision should he make? On one hand he will
make his father proud witch is what he has been doing his whole life. On the other hand
he could fulfill his own dream of going to a college that is not focused manly on sports.
If he follows his father then he will always be known has a joke, if he follows his dream
then he will be known for his brilliance. The choice is his, but which road will lead to
happiness? Some say the dream, but others say the happiness of a loving father out weighs
any dream. While I will agree that this may not be a large problem it still puts a lot of
pressure on a teen while trying to finish out your high school years. And in his world
this may have been the biggest problem of his life, while in another it was icing on the
cake of troubles. For example a high school senior that has a low GPA, but a bright mind.
This senior is going to have to work hard trough Junior college before able to transfer
to a four year college. This was not in his plans at a younger age and it has him
somewhat discouraged the last year of high school. He know what he has to do to get into
a two year college, which is very little, but he is still getting hounded on by everyone
to do his best at the end. His family is not exactly rolling in money for him to go to a
big college on, and a two-year college first would be a lot cheaper then straight into a
four-year university. If he busts his but to slightly pull himself out of a whole at the
end of the year then he may be able to get accepted to a big college with most of his
friends, but could be afford it. The best thing for his family is the two-year college,
yet in his eyes the best thing for him is to be with all his friends. Should he push
himself to get further and put his family in debt so he can be happy, or does he do what
will be easier for him and his family by sliding through the rest of high school and just
going to the smaller college? You might be surprised how common this problem is among
today's high school kids. Yet it's still not the worst thing that a teen can go trough.
The biggest problem would be a senior that is thinking he can not get any where in life
not matter what he does. This is the guy that you will most often find in the back of
class asleep because he doesn't think he should try or put forth any effort. His parents
have not paid enough attention in his eyes and for this he hates them for bringing him
into this world. He is just waiting for the day when he turns 18 so he can drop out of
school. He's not thinking of getting a G.E.D. to go on to some sort of technical school
though. He often speaks of the fact that he has a gun at home and when he turns 18 he can
buy bullets. "This will be the fastest way." He has mumbled to a few classmates that grow
concerned that he might not be kidding around. And when they go to the guidance office to
report what he has said, the consoler tells them that she is busy today and tomorrow, but
she will try to get to it sometime Thursday around 10:30. This is the worst situation
that I have ever heard of in my entire life. What could possible lead this teen to think
killing himself is the only way out of his problems. And how could a guidance consoler
put a problem like this off for two in half days with and real concern for the teen's
life. It makes you wander why we are so surprised when a teen walks into a school and
blows himself away and takes a few with him. People try to blame high school shootings on
television or heavy metal music because it is easier to blame something on someone else
other than you. The world today puts to much pressure on teens growing up. Not to fight
in war or get a job, but to just be a teenager. There is to many groups that we are
supposed to fit into and to many standards that we have to meet in order to be socially
acceptable. In order for today's generation of teens to freely be accepted they are going
to have to become adults and replace the older generation that are to stuck in their own
ways to truly let us be our on persons. Chapter 5 Our ideas are new and fresh and this
often intimidates our elders that fear change and the fact that they will soon be
replaced by younger, fresher, and more creative models. Today's students are learning
more and faster then thoughts before us. My opinion, which may not matter much to most,
is that if we are developing are mind faster and better than we should be able to share
our educated views with the rest of the world before the destruction that we already have
to clean up gets any worse. Generations before us have already been careless with the
environment and several other things that may not affect them in their own life times but
will have to be dealt with by those to come. One large problem dealing with the
environment is the landfill space or lack there of. While the methods used to dispose of
the earths waste have been somewhat successful, there is only so much space that we can
use before the trash that we produce over flows into our back yards. Just like Sara
Senthia Silvea Stout who would not take her garbage out, if we don't deal with this
quickly growing problem it may be to late. Luckily some of the futures brightest minds
are learning about the situation at an early age and will soon develop the knowledge it
will take to clean up this mess. Today's youth is also wising up to the fact that we
can't continue to keep killing each other in the streets over childish difference like
territory that we don't even own. We are learning to look past skin color and religion to
see that we are all human. In order for the human race to continue to be that dominate
species we must stop killing our own kind like savage beasts. The only sad thing is that
it took an incidence like Columbine to really open our eyes to the problem of social
discretion that is the poison of today society. Yet the only people you can blame for the
problem with my generation's views of each other is the adults that taught them to think
with such small-minded mentality. It seems that more often these days I'm opening the
newspaper to find and article about a fifteen-year-old child genius that is already
earning a degree from a large university and moving on to a high paying job in a very
respected field. It amazes me what we are capable these days. We are a generation that
thrives on out doing each other intellectually. There is no doubt in my mind that we will
soon revolutionize the world, as we know it. In a society built by dreamers we are some
of the best by far. Since most things have already been done or accomplished we are able
to reach further and improve on what has been created or not even thought of yet. I
personally can't wait to see what we are fully capable of doing. Chapter 6 To kind of
change to subject for a moment I'd like to sort of let some of my own inner thoughts and
dream spill out into written word. Just for the simple fact that while I've been giving
my opinion on several subjects, I think its only fare that you learn what has been
manifesting in my brain over the past years to create what I hope to one day make a
reality for myself. Since I've grown up in a middle class family I've often dreamed of a
successful life. I know there has always been a point in most people's lives when they
have dream about what they will become and the wonderful life they will make for
themselves. For myself, I've always thought that I would do something to become rich and
famous quick. This may have been what first inspired me to sit in front of my computer
and try to write a book. Even as I type this right now I'm imagining what will come of
it. Will this simply be a file that remains on my computer unfinished and forgotten
about? Our will I one day publish it and go on to write several novel that are read by a
large audience. The future is a funny thing to think about, because there are so many
possibilities and factors that could change the course of my life. Perhaps I will become
a famous actor on the big screen, or a rich politician that will become president. One
thing I know for sure is that I wont be one of those guys that live in the same town he
grew up in where everyone has known him since he was a little kid. You know the kind of
guy that I'm talking about. The one that went to a college close to home and came back to
be a teacher, coach, or manager of a furniture store. Don't get me wrong, these are all
great people that make great parents, but that's not a life that I want for myself. I
want to make a name for myself in this world, and in order to do that I've got to do
something big to get recognized and get out of this small town.