Kicked my toe coming home tonight, the same one I happened to kick in Sparkling's garden, the one which is painful even if I kick it and nothing is wrong. It now hurts, and I limped back. I'm the one legged limping man, no the two legged man with a limp. If I had one leg I'd be the one legged hopping man. The pain, the pain of it. Ouch.
When considering yesterday's gripe about teenagers I began to wonder what it was like for myself as a teenager and I even recall how my mum and dad used to talk about the days when they were young. It's like there is a built in affinity to reminisce on days gone past and of course state something along the lines of "they never had it so good nowadays" which of course is true. Providing all things are equal teenagers of today are being bought up in a world more advanced than it was yesterday. Where there are more electrical devices to save time and effort and to entertain. Where transportation has had a few more years to develop with better roads, rails, sea routes and planes. So all things equal, things will be easier and require less effort than they used to, but the same growing pangs are there, the same hormones, same frustrations of peer pressure and friction between wills of parents and teenager. There are other more modern day dangers which arise in a more modern society which go hand in hand with advances in technology. For instance, easier cheating on essay writing and plagiarism using the web. Easy contact by email and text when it is not wanted. Then there is the change in societal values, fashion and cultures. Especially of cultures imported or adopted here which are contrary to our own indigenous one. Be this the use of the English language, body language or different cultural norms which cause friction. So Although teenagers are growing up in a less effort requiring world and it will be a more complicated than the one of their parents.
Coming from a working class background money was the major issue of my upbringing. It ruled every aspect of life. What food would be on the table, whether there would be fruit during the week, if shoes could last out a little longer before a new pair was bought. As for toys for Christmas we could forget anything which had been advertised on TV. Fashion was not a big item to worry about because every other working class family was the same. Although there was the odd kid who wore better clothes than the rest which in our eyes just made them Nancies. My hair was long because of the cost to get it cut. I was lucky my parents didn't do home hair cuts, the kids who did have home cuts were always recognizable. We had to pay for our own bus fair unlike today in London where kids up to 14 years old get travel for free. The biggest highlight would be going to the cinema and to watch the Saturday special. Bed was early even though you never felt tired, and parents rowed. There was no help with homework, no encouragement to better my education. So I turned out a div. To tell the truth I hated school. The overly large class sizes, averaging 33-38 pupils and one teacher. They were cramped. Some of the teachers were crap. The odd one OK, and the weak ones became fodder. If the nature versus nurture debate were ever in question the upbringing of working class kids in a society against anyone considered middle or upper class was the thing to make them disadvantaged. Then when it came to leaving school the pressure was on, it was enormous, it was find a job and if I didn't I'd be kicked out. Quite vocally put. When unemployed most of my income went towards paying my keep, leaving very little for myself to do anything at all. First job was then guaranteed to be poorly paid, long hours and soul destroying. It was at this point education finally had a salient value to me.
Bloody sad. So it is with no wonder I try to influence those growing up family members I can, and it is with equal sadness the light isn't switched on. But we each of us have the one painful rite, it is the rite to make our own mistakes. Even when others tell us before we make them, it is our own obstinate rite to be ass holes. Then reflect when older and wish we had done differently. If someone ever says they have no regrets in life, you know they are a liar. It is part of life to make mistakes, regret and hopefully learn. These lessons are not taught in class unfortunately. I must learn not to kick my toe.
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