Confusion

Here we are in the 21st century where you can be anything that you want to be. Opportunities are always surrounding you, just waiting for you to make that leap of faith and grasp onto it. From just looking at the surface of the 21st century, it’s amazing. Anyone would react to it by placing a wide grin on their face. However, this is not what the 21st century actually holds in its deepest depths.

I was born in 2004, a generation where America’s culture was growing and flourishing. I had been brought up by my wonderful family that included my mom, dad, and brother. I don’t remember much from my early childhood, but I can tell from the videos my parents took of me from that time that I was happy. There were no worries in my mind. I was completely and utterly in love with the life that I had going for me. It wasn’t until middle school when that element of innocence wrapped around my mind had slowly started to fall off.

At the age of 10, I started going to the middle school. It was an eye opener for sure. Much more work was needed of me in every way, but it was nothing I couldn’t manage. After school, I would spend most of my time watching tv. However, my least favorite part of watching my favorite shows were the breaks for snippets of video that to me had no meaning. When I would watch them, I would see beautiful women with a clothing brand on them or holding a bottle of perfume as advertisement. I couldn’t help but wonder if these beautiful women were a necessity to the commercial. I soon later realized they were.

Once I had reached seventh grade, my innocence of the world’s natural doing was wiped out of my mind completely. I would sit at home watching show after show, seeing these commercials that conveyed wrong ideas. It baffled me that these commercials never showed what other people look like besides perfection. As my life went on, I started to notice other societal standards in other forms.

When I entered high school, I would be lying if I told anyone that I wasn’t scared. A new environment with much more responsibilities was waiting for me to take its hand and lead me to graduation and college. Does everyone take its hand? Are there other possibilities for me? These were the questions that ran through my mind throughout freshmen and sophomore year. It was a constant battle in my mind whether I should follow the path laid out for me or turn around and find a new one.

Society in the 21st century has one way or another put societal standards on younger minds to be or look a certain way. This has undeniably caused many issues for many younger people as it chooses the path for them, making it seem as if that is the only way to take. When a person isn’t fully capable of that path, that is when the deterioration of a person’s mind comes into play. They feel as though they need to change, but they are stuck in a place of darkness with no light at the end. I know this because I went through it. During that constant battle in my mind about following a certain path for school, I started to feel stuck. I didn’t know what I wanted to be at the time. All I knew was that this was the road society wanted me to take.

From being a freshmen to becoming a junior, I have learned and changed a whole lot. However, one thing still confuses me to this day on. Why would society want everyone to look the same way or go down the same path? Wouldn’t that make us all the same exact person? Maybe I will never know the answer to this, but I am not mad about that. By learning from my growth as a student and a person, I know that there is more than what is showcased on television, in books, or even what is being said by other people. There are more roads for any person to follow.

If the 21st century, as I said above, is believed to have never ending opportunities, what about the opportunity to be any unique person you want? That is a question I’m not sure will ever be answered.