People these days are just too cool. This I believe. They’re too cool to show emotion, too cool for courtesy, too cool for having differing opinions, too cool to have meaningful relationships, and yes, as cliche as it may be, too cool for school. This generation of thinking has slowly spread an epidemic of sorts where people see everything as being unworthy of their recognition, where nothing is of any importance. I too am a product of this phenomenon and to put it quite simply, I just don’t like it.
It’s not just one person that pressures everyone to do as he or she does; it’s a trend of rebellion among the young people of today. It’s in fashion to go against the grain, and I’m all about advocating for individuality and holding your ground for something you believe in, but when it has become the newest thing to do the opposite, to defy something, anything, merely for the sake of it, I cannot help but to question such a movement. So many of us are just starting to find ourselves and where we fit in the world, however we are as much an example of our beliefs and actions as we are of our inaction. I see it show itself every time one of my professors asks the simplest of questions. The room falls mute. All of my fellow classmates look around trying to refrain from any eye contact. They sit there, praying that it’s not them who gets called on to give an answer, scanning the room for the first brave soul who’s willing to break the ice. It could be the most unassuming or innocent of questions. Whether it’s along the lines of “Hey class how are we doing today?” or “Can anybody reflect on the reading from last class?” Dead silence. I myself continue looking aimlessly around, knowing very well that I too am perfectly capable of giving an adequate response. I think to myself, “ But what if it’s wrong? What if I stumble over my words? What if they have a different opinion? No, it’s okay. I’ll just let someone else cover this one.” I get nervous, so in turn I rebel. My choice is inaction, and this anomaly reaches far outside the limitations of the classroom.
Now, I’m not proud of this vogue mentality we have created, and it is my hope that others feel the same; however I can’t help but to say I get it. Why? Because it’s our defense to regress back to familiarity and what is comfortable. By no means am I saying that it’s in our nature to act too cool for things, but it is in our nature to blend in when threatened, to revert back to basics and what we know as mainstream. Nobody likes to chance that small risk that they’ll make an utter and complete fool of themselves for saying the wrong thing. We’d much rather blend in.
It’s funny to me how the chameleons of society have unified together in rebellion. We are a generation with so much of our own originality, that we shouldn’t be scared to show our true colors. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps our lifestyle no more than a verbal battlefield. Now although I believe in the hostility of my generation, I also believe we are stitched together with good intentions. Being scared for the possibility of what could be seems so naive when we could instead decide to put our potential to use. The mold is meant to be broken so we must shed our camouflaged exterior and be who we are and say what we feel because inaction is not a real answer to whatever life throws our way. So I guess I do believe in being too cool. I believe in being too cool to be a rebel and I believe in rebelling the rebellion.