As James Fiebig once said, “Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.” If only these wise words can be told to today’s generation. While growing up is an inevitable task we must endure to fill natures course, some people are doing it at warp speed. Today’s youngsters are so open eyed to a world that once had a sign on it saying “you must be this age to enter.”
The media encourages kids to grow up and start learning about things that are way too mature for their age group. It makes us wonder what happened to those innocent little children that used to jump rope and giggle whenever they heard an adult say a bad word. But most importantly it makes us wonder if we were ever like that or if we ever started talking about that certain topic when we were their age. Girls who are 10 years old are getting massages and facials to “unwind from a very stressful day.” What kind of stress!? Were they torn between using the pink or red crayon to color their butterfly with? Or are they relaxing because they had a fight with their best friend over who liked Hello Kitty more? Today’s atmosphere doesn’t help either. Pop culture is encouraging little boys to start talking like the rap singers they listen to and for little girls to dress like the dancers in the rap videos. Movies and music can also have some very suggestive material that unfortunately does not go unnoticed by children. It’s called PG-13 for a reason people. It seems like the interval in a person’s life that allows him or her to be a child is decreasing at an astonishing rate and there is nothing we can do about it. Kids are starting to lose their innocence and their childhood more and more as they are exposed to a society that rushes them to adolescence, adulthood, and old age, leaving them wondering “how did I get here so fast?”
That’s why I like this quote so much. It states that no matter how old and bitter and senile we get, we will always have an inner child in us that will always be devastated when “a scoop of ice cream fall[s] from the cone” (Fiebig). It helps bring us back to a safe place where the worst thing we can do is sneak some vegetables to our dog under the dinner table and go to bed at nine o’clock instead of our normal bedtime of 9:30. With this quote we remember a life we yearn to get back. A simple one. A happy one. Because we all know that in lieu of the cars and the cellphones and the IPods, a part of us aches for our bedtime “blankies” and warm hot chocolate.
I enjoyed reading your quote and all the insight you put into it. I loved how your tone felt serious, but with a subtle case of humor. I personally felt that your words evoked a sense of laughter....laughing at how kids no longer stay, "youngsters" for too long. It felt as if you were actually talking to me in person because I could FeEl your voice since it was very strong in your post.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post! :) It was very comical and made me laugh about the stereotypical boy and girl of the modern age. The boy, trying to be ghetto in any way, shape or form. The girl, trying to wear an even shorter skirt with each passing year. And true, I believe we are all just trying to get back to the older generations where kids actually acted their own age... If we lived in a time as that life would be much "simpler" as you put it. Everyone would be the right age and have the right mindset on the world.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so true with today’s society, they are growing up so fast! I remember when I was in fifth grade the girls still made fun of the boys or teased them as friends, there were no relationships of any sort besides friendship, when now just recently a two female fifth graders got into a fight over a boy which resulted in one of the girls death. It’s ridiculous how much things have changed, good post, very nicely put, and it states the truth!(:
ReplyDeleteThat really in accurate to today's society. Young kids do want to grow up fast. It is terrible to see 12 or 13 year old girl who is pregnant, when they should be outside riding their bike or drawing pictures. But sadly this is what our society has come to. It is true that kids who should be playing dolls are trying to grow up so fast. When i was volunteering at Learning Plaza, I saw these Kindergardeners holding hands and kissing, Kindergardeners!!! I thought that that was absolutely crazy because when i was in kindergarden i thought boys had cooties. It is good to stay young as long as possible because with growing up comes with much responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your tone throughout this. The serious bits made me think about today's society's problems and the humorous parts made me laugh. I particularly liked your examples of feeding veggies to the dog and people's longing for their "blankies".
ReplyDeleteIt really is upsetting how accurate your portrayal of today's youth is. I believe the problem lies in how they are raised, because who lets them listen to the music of inappropriate rappers or music videos featuring scantily-clad women? The real problem lies with the parents who subject their children to things they shouldn't be watching yet.