Have you ever wanted to get away? To get out of your little town and do something different than what is expected? I think there's a want, no, a need in everyone to break out. They want to break free of their parents' rules, their town's limits, their family's expectations. But I also realize that not everyone embraces this need. Some people are too close to their family to really leave. They need to be close and be able to see them whenever they can. Others are afraid of what may happen if they go against what is expected. Parents expect their children to get good grades through school, attend church with them, be involved in extracurricular activities, and do everything possible to get into college.
Why is all this the "norm" though? Why are all of us expected to go down the same path? Haven't our parents taught us to be our own person? We have been told to not care what others think of us. We should do what we really love and not go with the flow. We shouldn't be influenced by what others tell us to do. And yet, our parents still push us to do things that aren't what we really like. They question our clothing style, whether it be t-shirts and shorts, sweaters and jeans, or tank-tops and skirts. They tell us what they want us to wear. They move us to new homes and expect us to fit right in. They push all these new things onto us, like what school activities we should get involved in, what church groups we should attend, what classes we should take in order to get chances to go to great colleges. I understand that parents believe they have our best interests at heart, and I am not trying to talk bad about them. But when have they really stopped to ask us what we truly want to do with our lives? Usually you hear the commonly asked questions, "Where do you want to go to college?" and, "What job do you want when you graduate?". What would they say if we said we didn't want to go to college? What if we shocked them by leaving our little town, or leaving our state? We might even leave the country to travel. Or possibly we just want to work at a local mechanic shop. What would they say to these actions? To have your child do just as you ask for 18 years of their life, and then they just get up and leave. They move out. They don't go down the path that was planned for them. For some reason all of this causes distress in the generations before us. Do they not remember the need they had to get out and make a life for themselves? Is that not what our ancestors wanted? They left their homes and families. They took a chance and went along the less traveled path. They were afraid, but they were more afraid of what would happen if they never took a stand in their lives.
We want to get out in the world and prove that we have a place here. We aren't going to let big cities scare us; we'll take a chance. We won't merely overpass the little towns; we'll stop and see what there is to offer. We plan to make lives for ourselves and enjoy life and take every chance we can. We want every experience we could possibly have. We are determined to not let the ideals of others take control of us. We will show the world that what was once the "norm" is not our only option. We will take our stand and not be forgotten. In the end, we want no regrets and we want to be remembered. Isn't that what we all really want?
