Don't meddle in other people's relationships...

I see so many people complaining about their relationship problems... but they're almost never complaining about their bf/gf, it's always other people trying to screw things up for them, or always disapproving of the relationship, no matter how hard they try to do everything right. why? if two people are happy together, leave them to it! a relationship is nobody's business but the people involved. if it really isn't a good relationship then it won't come to anything. and even if it brings a lot of hurt with it, that's their choice! don't try to run other people's lives for them, it won't help. it will just ruin the relationship you have with that person. i see it especially in the case of parents. i know you feel like you have to protect your kids, and i know it's hard to let go of the wheel and let someone else drive, but you have to. when your kids become teens, they can take care of themselves. they can think rationally enough to make choices themselves, and if they turn out to be bad choices, then they'll learn from it. feel free to tell your kids everything that's happened to you, and advise them accordingly, but don't restrict them in any way, ESPECIALLY when it comes to love. during these years when their hormones are acting up (DISCLAIMER: just because their hormones are more active during these years doesn't mean that's the only reason they like someone.) all their emotions are acting up, including anger, and rebelliousness. trying to control them will only make them hate you. now, giving a few obviously rules: no drugs, no sex, no criminal activity isn't a bad thing at all, but when you try to control every facet of their lives, that's bad. they are perfectly rational humans and can make their own choices. parent's should be friends and advisors during these difficult years, not tyrants and puppet-masters.

love. (also: teenage dating)

i find the word "love" tossed around a lot, especially with us teens. but i also find a lot of us don't really get what it means. first: what is love? and what is attached? i find a lot of people who say they "love" each other, but then break up in a few months. i think this is mostly because they don't entirely understand what they're saying. love is not the woozy feeling you get when you look at someone you like. that will fade, and when it does, you'll be left wondering why you don't feel as strongly as you did before, and then probably break up. did you think that state of intoxication would last your whole life? your stomach acid will eventually kill all the butterflies. love is the ability and desire to stay with someone through everything. no matter how many times you fight, always staying with them, because they are more important to you than anything else in the world. love is wanting to do everything for someone, even if they don't even notice. love never asks what you can get from the other person, but what you can give the other person.

now for teen dating. i find younger and younger teens hooking up. that's just asking for trouble. dating has one purpose, and one purpose only. it's to test the field looking for someone you will spend the rest of your life with. frankly, at 13 you're not thinking of marriage, are you? this will probably be the first (of many) times you will feel jittery about someone, and you think that you're "in love". but when all that leaves, what's left? did you ever really love the person? or just the way they made you feel? you really have to examine how you feel, and what kind of base your relationship has before you even consider dating, and even then, i don't think it's a good idea under the age of 16 or 17. then at least you have a possibility of lasting until you're old enough to do something about it. the teen years are a confusing time, but trust me, it just gets more confusing if you add relationships to it. if you really think you like a person, build a solid friendship to use as a foundation when you're old enough to actually do anything about your feelings.

Generations

Frankly, i'm sick of all the stereotypes against this generation. just today i was riding my bike downtown and this old guy driving just stares at me menacingly, not paying attention to the road... he could have crashed! but nooo he had to stare disapprovingly at the male teen... Have they ever considered who raised this generation? we've only had this world for a little while, it was them who screwed it up for us!!!! their mistakes messed up the world, and now we have to live with it, but we're the ones who are stereotyped against? and yes, i realize that most stereotypes form because there is a majority of that type, but any juvenile delinquency was caused by negligent parents!! it's not the kids fault he grew up with a drunken father, or an abusive mother! of course they'll come out a little messed up!! but even with that large group of delinquents, not all teens are horrible! just yesterday i saw one help an old man with a door because he was carrying groceries! the number of teens at youthgroups in this town at least is astounding! we're not bad people, we just get categorized that way because there are a few of us in juvie!

Abortion

I was recently arguing with a liberal acquaintance of mine (want to raise your blood pressure? perfect solution.) on the subject of abortion. What has become acceptable, even normal, in this country simply astounds me. People play with the lives of future other human beings, and live with themselves based on the theory that they aren't human yet, that they're some kind of fish/human mix and therefore killing them is acceptable. NEWSFLASH!: These are still human beings, people! they have working hearts, lungs, and brains! and even if they don't know it yet, they have the potential for future life! what if Einstein's mother had gotten an abortion? or Ronald Reagan's? or Obama's? what if your mother had aborted you??? you never know what people are going to become at the moment they're born!! abort your child and you may be robbing the world of it's next Thomas Edison!!! And as for the argument "it's her body" it's also the baby's body! does she have two hearts? four lungs? two brains? no! and if she's so worried about "her body" than maybe she should have kept her legs crossed!!!! and as for rape victims, yes. it's a horrible thing to happen to anyone, but kill the rapist! not the baby!!!! even if you hate it because it reminds you of that horrible experience it's still innocent, and it may be the one good thing that comes out of it, because it's yours! one day you will regret aborting your baby, ask almost any almost mother! Don't abort. It's human lives you're playing with, people.