“Kids these days …”
A common phrase often followed with a negative comment. Adults express these statements when frustrated by the younger generation.
Sometimes in my classroom I feel it. “Why can’t kids these days …?”
Then I try to slow down my reactions and consider the kids beyond their inattentiveness. I try to imagine life through their eyes, to see their complications and respect their feelings. Often their insight amazes me.
Last month, one student shared an idea that defines a person of character: “Bad things can happen, but it’s OK. There are ways to fix it.”
Not always easy, life challenges us all. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. No matter a situation’s outcome, it’s OK. When we accept ourselves in adverse situations as well as in advantageous ones, we can move beyond simply defining ourselves by our circumstances.
Accepting these situations allows us to move past knee-jerk reactions of fear and negativity so we can reassess our circumstance. Then we can resolve the conflict by looking beyond the surface issue to envision and examine options. It is then that we can define ourselves by our actions.
No matter if I fail, no matter the negative event, it’s OK. I know I can fix it, because I know I will work toward fixing it.
Bad things do happen, and we can fix them. Kids these days. They know how to live as people of character.
I’m Elsa Glover, and that’s my perspective.
