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Reviews For: My Generation - Reviews: Page 1 of 2

helixdown 2008-07-19 ch 1,	Though i agree with your story, i would also say that you seem to be generalizing the entire generation. And though i'm sure you didn't mean to do this, i'd like to point out that most people aren't like this. (Well maybe i just happen to be lucky and are friends with people other than what you speak of) As a kid, i know alot of other kids, and most of the kids are good people. Now i'd like to address the different parts of this essay. Drugs, this is a problem. It wasn't until recently that i realized it was so commonly used. My own brother smokes pot. Drinking, not so much. Lots of people drink without becoming alcholics. And as long as you can control yourself, it's fine. Sex, again, alot of people do it without getting STD's. If it was so common then just about every single one of our parents would have one. This is a black and white extremists view, much like the drinking. Though it should be waited out until a proper age, it's no problem. The hard work part, once again, maybe it's just the people i happen to know. But it's not true, me, and most of my friends, work incredibly hard to get our money. Though i must admit i do know a couple of kids who get everything they want and don't even know how to work. Materialism, yes, this is actually a pretty big problem, this i 100 percent agree with you. Parents, this is a sketchy subject, because after saying this people will no doubt think of me as a brat. Though, once again, it may just be the people i know, alot of parents don't deserve respect. For instance, i have a friend, who's parents are millionaires. However, they only spend money on themselves, as for the child, he has no TV, no computer, no Air Conditioning. This part doesn't seem so horrible, but again, their millionaires, and they won't even spend a little for their 13 year old boy? He get's 3 meals a week. 3 meals. That's it, his family is rich, and he gets 3 meals because he's not old enough to work for a living, and his parents don't give a ** about him, not even enough to get him food. Another friend, his Dad is an abusive parent, who obsessed with proving he's better than everyone else in the world. He beats my friend until he bleeds. His mom, works him to death, litterally. It's like child labor. The kid has no luxuries, and is forced to do work and other useless things as him mom sees fit, she works him so hard that he averages about 1 hour of sleep a night. 1 hour! This kid is growing! For God's sake he's like 12 years old! I have to invite him over to my house more often than not just to make sure he gets a decent meal, good night's rest, and heals up. The review has already gotten to long, but i'll just say i could go on and on, and probably state much worse things that i've seen parents due to their kids, most obviosuly, being abuse. To be honest, in my entire life, i've met about 6 parents whom i think are good adults, worth their claim of respect, the rest are lazy, mean, uncaring people. You say kids are saying their parents are mistreating them by not buying them gadgets, from what i see kids say their parents are mistreating them for not buying them food, not buying them air conditioning, not offering rides, no emotional support, abuse, both physically and emotionally, overworking them, yelling constantly at them, simply not being there for them. Once again, it might be where i live, but most kids are good kids, and most parents, well, not so much. When you say "what the hell is wrong with these kids?" i say "What the hell is wrong with these adults? They better not influence us kids!"
WarlordJEREK 2008-07-01 ch 1,	I really do like this essay. It's terrible that people have to berate others for not following a certain religion and really it's just sad. Another thing I like about this essay is your point on mp3 players and other gadgets. I know alot of kids at my school that have them and alot of them have had more than two cell phones so far. I have one cell phone and no mp3 player and I'm perfectly happy. Sexual abstinence is another thing I liked about this essay. I personally don't even feel like it's even that big of a deal in a relationship, especially in school for God's sake! Anyway, it is a very well written essay and I feel it very fairly tells of kid's behavior nowadays.
fatbird33 2008-05-31 ch 1,	i know you're not christian as stated, but Amen to this! i couldbn't agree with you more. for real, like everything you said i was physcially nodding my head to. and yes i probably did look stupid nodding at my computer screen.
The-Real-Kevy 2008-05-04 ch 1,	Whilst this is a very well written piece, I have to disagree with you on a lot of your points. However, being from Scotland it would seem inevitable that our views differ but I will throw my opinions on the matter out there anyway. Your views on sex, drugs and alcohol seem slightly extreme to me and, as a previous reviewer stated, take a very black and white view on life and the subject matter that you are tackling. Whilst I do not feel the need to dabble in drugs, I am a regular drinker and enjoy sexual activity. It is a firm belief of mine that the majority of people who drink alcohol can do so without turning into an alcoholic. I can safely say this despite the fact that my father is an alcoholic. The majority of the people I know drink alcohol and can do so in a responsible fashion without having a dependency on it. Having said that, I would agree that there are a large number of people who partake in the practice of 'binge drinking' but I am of the opinion that this is mainly due to a lack of education on the issue. There are problems with alcohol abuse but if you can enjoy it in moderation then drinking can be a good experience that doesn't end up with you spewing in a toilet and turning to alcoholism. With regards to sex, you seem to be of the view that any kind of sex will definitely lead to STDs. Your "star quarterback" was probably having sex with multiple partners and, chances are, not practicing in any kind of contraception, such as the use of a condom. If you and your girlfriend feel that you trust each other enough to take the correct precautions and can be sure that neither one will go sleeping around then really you should be fine. To claim abstinence over any kind of sexual experience ever just seems, as I stated previously, quite an extreme measure. Stop thinking about all of the people who have had STDs and think of all of the people in stable relationships who have not had STDs. Chances are the latter will far outweigh the former. Once again, it just takes some responsibility. It feels very much like you think you cannot trust yourself when it comes to sex and alcohol. You mention being afraid of turning into an alcoholic and hurting the ones you love, but not everyone does this when they drink. And not everyone will catch an STD if they practice safe sex. I guess I'm just saying that maybe you need to lighten up a bit and accept that not everyone will turn into the bane of society for having a drink once in a while and having sex. All of that did sound like a pretty damning indictment of your piece but I do agree with you on the aspect of the increasingly materialistic world that we live in. It is a ridiculous time that we live in when you are mocked for not owning the latest gadget. We live in a world were we try to have what the other guy doesn't and I share your pain there. I also respect the fact that you have a solid work ethic and have respect for your parents. There is a lot of greed in this world and it is nice to know that there are other people willing to make there own way in the world through a bit of hard graft. All in all, I have to thank you for writing this piece because, although I did not outright agree with you, you have written something that has made me think and that is difficult to find on this site. It was also a very emotive piece and your strong feelings and views come across well.
A. M. Bussuvanno 2007-12-18 ch 1,	I agree with this completely! As a sophmore in high school (luckily for me) I have seen much of this. The ignorance, the greed, and the selfishness; it never ceases to amaze me. The way that I see my peers acting, to me at least, is not acceptable. I, like some people my age, don't have the best relationship with my parents, but I know that I need to treat them with the respect that they deserve. Greed is also a terrible factor with teens and children today, too. It suddenly seems like if kids don't get what they want, they have the worst parents in the world.
Stitch-Puppy 2007-12-13 ch 1,	Very nice. And let me say before I continue- though I'm very pleased with you giving me reviews this is not a response to that (although it did lead me to your page) but I genuinely think this is worth reviewing. Anyway- snaps for you for choosing this course. I myself abstain for many of the same reasons (helped along by a major phobia of vomit and a dislike of many of the males in my school) and often find, like you, that it is annoying to be judged on my skepticism for and lack of participation in major religions. Although- I'm in an area where people tend to be split between devout belief and 'hate' of God. As soon as I say I'm not relgious people assume I'm one of the God 'haters'. I find most of those people to be ignorant myself. I noticed someone commented on you calling someone a **- I actually feel no reason to scold you for that since I tend to find that anyone who is as level headed as you appear to be only resort to naughty words because otherwise you will use fisticuffs. I do make my own money and try to avoid asking for any large gifts (I did get a mini-ipod my 12th birthday and I hand-me down cell phone but though it doesn't take pictures I feel no reason to complain.) You are right- some of us are getting bad names because of the other teenagers and although I'm far from perfect (Shocker right?) it still kills me when adults treat me like an idiot because of what my peers think is 'cool'. Anyway- my point is you have good points and its nice to know I’m not alone.
derisive snort 2007-12-10 ch 1,	"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with these kids!?" I occasionally wonder the same thing. One the other hand an entire generation is a lot of people to give up on. Also, straightedgeism, I totally know where your coming from, when I tell people I don't drink much or smoke pot they assume I have some misguided paranoia or some holier-than-thou complex, when in reality, I just prefer to remain sober. I don't know what BIR and ISS is, some form of detention? I know this isn't exactly an instrumental piece of your essay, but it might be good to clarify.
Creative Colors 2007-11-17 ch 1,	Hello, I find you're essay really interesting. we acutely seem to have quite a bit in common. I to live in the Bible Belt and am not a Christian. I all so had a hard time growing up in school but for more different reasons then you. " Two years ago, when I was in eighth grade, there was an incident with me retaliating to one of these comments by calling her a ." This kind of sadden me. When I was about 13 or 14 years old I was called a "White " and in all seriousness, I had NEVER been called a ** before. I didn't even know that people my age talked like that either. It was really hurtful to me to for a long time. "The first thing is that I am a practicer of Straightedgeism. I don't smoke, I don't drink I don't have sex, and I don't do any illegal drugs. More importantly, I choose to not do these things. That is a rarity in this generation. People often come up to me and ask if I am still a virgin, or if I celebrate 4/20. When I tell them no, they seem to get off of telling me what a loser I am." I to choose not to do these things and I never really found it that hard either. However, this is all so kind of hard to swallow because MANY people have these problems. It's very hard to stop. The thing is that I do not like about this essay is that you kind of act like you're better then every one else, you're not. No one is. People have problems and you don't know what there lives are like behind close doors. I all so had a close nit of friends during the middle part of high school, that made things a little better. My father all so works very hard. He's worked at UPS for 30 + years. Started as a person driving packages and is now one of the manages there. I am very proud of my dad and I KNOW how hard he works. I am a very lucky person and am able to really enjoy my life. However, I've all so have had my own triumphs and down falls. I've seen a lot of stuff most people don't see, except on the news. I've had years with my parents, where we didn't all ways have all the money in the world. I still remember growing up and sometimes having to sneak in snacks for the movies because we couldn't afford food, at the movie theaters. People go through these things still. It's just live in general. This generation does kind of suck, I admit. Kind of sad one day we're all gonna be the ones who run it. That'll be terrifying. All though, I guess it can't be no worse then what Bush is doing to the country right now.
freeworld 2007-07-21 ch 1,	claps i don't know how old you are, but with more kids like you around. i might actually start to have faith in upcoming generations.
Katherine Willow 2007-06-04 ch 1,	OK, so, I read this feeling really defensive. Why? Well, my path to your work starts with reading a review you left on my piece, "Meet Katiana" (which, if I didn't tell you before, I genuinely appreciate). Your profile led me to understand that you're sXe, and "My Generation" confirmed it. So, I'm defensive because your argument and ideals are logical, ethical, socially-acceptable, endorsed by the people I respect--and, also, the complete opposite of how I live my own life. Since I am proposing we are opposites (this will be important later, I promise), let's see what evidence I have. You're from the Bible Belt; I am from New England. You're not a Christian; I'm Roman Catholic. You're in high school, I'm in college. You're straight-edge, I get high at least three times a day. You're a virgin, I'm not. You're male, I'm female. I drink, you don't, I have a new iPod and a laptop and a digital camera and a designer purse, none of which I put any money toward. Our similarities: we're basically in the same age range. At least one of our parents works nights, and 12-hour shifts (my mother is a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse). We're both passionate about, and have a talent for, writing. We both have held thankless jobs. However, all is not lost for me. The thing that made me most frustrated with your essay is that there is a black-and-white sensibility to it: that there are straight-edged kids and delinqent crackheads, virgins and nymphomaniacs, those who work 60 hours a week minimum wage to put food on the table and those who have a butler to brush their teeth for them. I know, I know, you probably have a sensibility about you to say that this is not what you intended, but it is the impression. So, since we are so drastically different, and you are on one side, I must be on the other. But I must defend myself. Despite my vices, I consider myself smart, articulate, clever, and funny. I know how to work hard. I held leads in nine musicals over four years, served as the Editor-in-Chief of my school newspaper, sang with five different choral groups, and currently serve as a co-leader for a sketch comedy group on campus. I volunteer tutoring unprivileged children in the Bronx. I have a good GPA that led me to an accredited university, and I'm thriving. I have friends and talents and a clean record. I hug my mom regularly and I know how to sew and do my laundry and mop a floor. I babysit. According to your essay, though, my efforts are useless, because my digital gadgets and weed-smoking habit negate them. It's too bad. What I can say for my generation and people like me, however, is that we're in a fantastic place of globalization. The fact that you and I can discuss these issues, despite our differences, is a stronger advantage than you might think. Love, K. P.S. I'd love to hear your response. I hope you're not offended--I mean no harm.
Vost Thenen 2007-05-13 ch 1,	I love the existentialist vibe that permeates throughout this little piece. Especially the bit about the mp3 player, only those whose rich, over-indulgent fathers foot the bill will ever be able to keep up with technology. Great overall
Radio Saturday 2007-04-09 ch 1,	Talkin' about your generation, huh? Sorry. I can never resist a Who joke. I find myself agreeing with you about a lot of this. I am a Christian, but not quite of the type I think you're talking about. I also have little desire to smoke, drink, have sex or do drugs (assuming that thinking about sex is another matter). However, I would agree with the other reviewer who said that it is unfair to say that smart kids are a rarity. It's just that we don't live close enough together.
CountLuciferLeviathan 2007-04-03 ch 1,	if i didn't know any better, i'd say your ranting about how kids today are spoil brats. which i have to agree with you, i ask for stuff from my mom, only difference is i don't expect her to give me it right now. kids today have to learn the hard way, which sadly has to be done. my little brother doesn't respect no one and is under peer pressure, and i try telling him to respect your elders and those of authority, but doesn't listens to me. overall this generation has to learn everything the hard way, and STDs isn't a laughing matter once someone gets it. -Lucifer Leviathan
Snip2r 2007-04-02 ch 1,	Before I actually get into your actual discussion, please try to be accurate. Don't you dare call teenagers who are smart (or wise) a rarity. They might be the minority, but they're certainly not a rarity. anyway, to your actual essay: Yes see, they have that trouble since what? More than a thousand year ago. You're not helping either by calling someone a , no matter what they say. And don't tell me I have no idea about what I'm talking about either. I'm an atheist living in Indonesia, the biggest Muslim nation in the world. Here people raid and destroy bars in the holy month. Fun, no? I respect you for choosing not to smoke or drink. I choose the same. Never touched wine or beer or any other type of alcaholic drink. Out of choice. I don't smoke either. I refuse to pay to commit suicide. This is all fair and all, but you're arguement about sex is rather... let me put it this way, the way you sound right now,it's as if you will not have sex, refuse to have sex for your whole life. And so should everyone in the Generation. What are you trying to do? A mass genocide? It's good that you're weary about STD's, but seriously... It's true that most people don't know what hard work is. I also dare to say that you probably don't know what hard work is. I don't either. I have never worked in a field in a farm under a hot sunny sky. I never worked in a sweatshop, even though many who is in my generations do so. They are doing a thankless job. Teachers too, the good ones anyway. They work their off for students, for what? You are a first world child, born in good conditions. You know you're surroundings. Good for you. You notice the problems that people have around you. Even better. Now please look at the problem globally. Don't say it's not your problem as well, because then you would be slightly hypocritical. Next time try to be more accurate. This problem of yours, have existed for centuries. We who are born in a third world country have witness the result of these problems a lot more clearly than you do. You want to see what the problem is with our generation? Travel the world, and you will realise what that problem is. Ignorance. Snip2r
Bunny-of-Despair 2007-04-01 ch 1,	I really like this. I live in one of the smallest towns in Tennessee, so I feel like I can relate. I like your profile page too; Imagine is one of my favorite songs, and I love the Doors.

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