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| We think talking is overrated, but it's the best way to assemble people together. |
Why do we blame ourselves?
by Zachary Dufour
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Adults and any older generations see us (teenagers) with disgust and will tell anyone we should be happy because we have everything easily. It's wretched to be a teenager in 2018. Let me prove you why.
You are a high school student, every day you see your fellow friends, talk with them and live a perfectly ordinary life. But, you don't feel happy, you're not fulfilling your need of joy, of love. Your many days of drama freedom and are ruined by your nights of overthinking: feeling lost and empty.
Our generation is statistically the most depressed one of all. Sadly enough, we now believe it's natural to feel that way, thus to feel numb. But why are we depressed? Modern lifestyles such as lack of family and social/community support, less exercise, more computer and less outside results into a shortage of self-confidence amongst younger generations.
"Human identity is no longer
defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose."
- Tom Rosenthal (Musician and Artist)
This is summed up by a really interesting lyric we can hear in Coldplay's song Fix You: "When you get what you want but not what you need" As humans we need love, we can't live without feeling appreciated or we'll turn into a self-deprecating phase where everything is dark, useless and empty just like we think we are.
Happiness should be measured not by our materialistic owns, but our memories that shape our current self. Us, teenagers, can't define beauty. We're stuck in a phenomenon where everyone wants to be everything except themselves. This causes self-identity to disappear. We've never been more lost than we are now, we don't know what to do. I once said to my friend that he shouldn't change himself for others and I still live by that. I feel like most people don't understand something very simple: You cannot love someone if you can't love yourself. A great example is bullies: they're jealous people that don't believe and even trust themselves. So, when they're stuck with all those dark and ugly thoughts they only want to spread them to the people, so they that everyone knows how bad they feel.
The main reason we're blaming ourselves is that we don't accept ourselves. We deny the beautiful person we actually are and try to change it for the good of society's standards and people opinions. The key to self-acceptance is to accept to the human factor in us. We need to recognize that we are perfect just the way we are. We're filled with flaws, in fact, each one of us is a mess, but a splendid one.
Happiness should be measured not by our materialistic owns, but our memories that shape our current self. Us, teenagers, can't define beauty. We're stuck in a phenomenon where everyone wants to be everything except themselves. This causes self-identity to disappear. We've never been more lost than we are now, we don't know what to do. I once said to my friend that he shouldn't change himself for others and I still live by that. I feel like most people don't understand something very simple: You cannot love someone if you can't love yourself. A great example is bullies: they're jealous people that don't believe and even trust themselves. So, when they're stuck with all those dark and ugly thoughts they only want to spread them to the people, so they that everyone knows how bad they feel.
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| If you ever feel alone, I hope you do realize you are loved. |
The main reason we're blaming ourselves is that we don't accept ourselves. We deny the beautiful person we actually are and try to change it for the good of society's standards and people opinions. The key to self-acceptance is to accept to the human factor in us. We need to recognize that we are perfect just the way we are. We're filled with flaws, in fact, each one of us is a mess, but a splendid one.
We're blind because we don't want to see.
Teenagers are miffed without love.
The silent and dark place that is depression weirdly attracts us.
So, if you don't want to realize when you get older you wasted the good old days, do what you can't. Right now, at this precise time, you should enjoy everything you have, your wonderful friends, your addicting passions or your precious loved one instead of hating everything that shapes you. So if you think everything right now is bad, go look out outside. Open your eyes and smell the refreshing perfume of the real world. When I'm feeling down and upset, I usually enjoy being alone with my thoughts and just walk as I see the world and time passing by. Before, taking my time and observing life was dull, since as a teen, I am programmed for instant gratification. But when I first realized the beauty of everything; the leaves falling off the trees, the kids having fun in the park or the young couple sharing a warm feeling of love, my perception of this massively strange world changed.
P.S. all photos are mine.
Here is a short film by one of my favorite creators (Bertie Gilbert) about mental illness if you ever want to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT__bZWl5m8&index=16&list=LLHGfbncLpMb65UfFcE3ITsw&t=0s
So, if you don't want to realize when you get older you wasted the good old days, do what you can't. Right now, at this precise time, you should enjoy everything you have, your wonderful friends, your addicting passions or your precious loved one instead of hating everything that shapes you. So if you think everything right now is bad, go look out outside. Open your eyes and smell the refreshing perfume of the real world. When I'm feeling down and upset, I usually enjoy being alone with my thoughts and just walk as I see the world and time passing by. Before, taking my time and observing life was dull, since as a teen, I am programmed for instant gratification. But when I first realized the beauty of everything; the leaves falling off the trees, the kids having fun in the park or the young couple sharing a warm feeling of love, my perception of this massively strange world changed.
- Accept challenges your friends throw at you. Seek discomfort.
- Go ride that old bike you left in your garage. Listen to music.
- Play into the rain, dance, and sing.
- Find that used guitar and start creating art.
- Go climb an abandoned building, film it with the GoPro you got on your birthday.
Live your life instead of hating on it. Build memories instead of being nostalgic. Love what you already have instead of wanting more.
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| We're lost because our focal point is constantly blurred. [Photo: Zachary Dufour] |
P.S. all photos are mine.
Here is a short film by one of my favorite creators (Bertie Gilbert) about mental illness if you ever want to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT__bZWl5m8&index=16&list=LLHGfbncLpMb65UfFcE3ITsw&t=0s
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