Rant.

Please don't get me wrong. I know i don't know everything, and i completely understand this is a lot more to this than i can see. I also know that some situations don't apply to what i'm saying (which will come in later). I'm not a genius, and i'm not perfect. I'm only 16, and these are just my OPINIONS on things based on what i've seen, what i believe, and past experiences. Therefor, don't yell at me if you think i'm wrong or if i don't look at every angle. Forgive me if i mess up, be respectful, remember i'm just a kid. Feel free to skip to the end of this because the last paragraph is the most important.

So it seems today that everyone blames society for our problems. Society is the reason girls think they have to be skinny. Society is the reason kids feel bad about themselves. It's society's fault that we have the problems we do. When people say those things and things of that nature, it comes off as if people aren't to blame. That each individual person does not play a role. That this mass thing called society is to blame, but not people. Now what i don't really understand is what people think society is. In my mind, society is just people. Maybe it consists of the more powerful people (advertisers, politicians, celebrities), but people nonetheless.

That's what i don't agree with. I get it, the people that make society have a big role in what ideas are portrayed.  That makes sense. But what about the people that RAISE the kids that believe these things? See, the way i see it is behind every kid is a parent/adult that models how to be. Little girls grow up seeing their moms switch from diet to diet. Kids see their parents talk about other people, break the rules, complain about what's wrong with other people, etc. Then they model it. That's just what kids do. Their are also the hypocritical parents that complain about whats wrong with society and with other people, and turn around and force that on their kids. When i was little my mom talked about how "big" that lady is. But from the time i was about 7, we started watching what "we" ate. Then i got too fat, so "we" started exercising. "We" tried to eat healthy. "We" tried to fix "our" problems. But what my mom was really saying with all those things is that I need to watch what i eat. I need to get skinny. I need to fix MY problems because that's what society calls for. My point is, parents are reinforcing society's ideas in their kids. They tell them what's good and bad, what's pretty and not, what they (parents) think is right. All of these ideas gotten from society, reinforced, and then believed by kids because all they want to do is please their parents. Their parents are their idols.

Does that mean parents are completely to blame? Nope. That'd be too easy. Sure, parents "mold" (to some degree or another) their kids into what they want them to be. They influence their ideas, the ways they think, their interests, etc. But after a while, how much influence do you have on your kid? Not that much. There comes a point where kids make their own choices. They choose what they believe and they run with it. I think how parents raised their kids plays a major factor in what they believe, but it's not everything. When kids start making their own choices, and figuring out their own beliefs, they can either drop what their parents have said or stick with it. Sure, society throws out that it's okay to have crazy fun because you only live once. Sure my mom comes home drunk once or twice. Does that mean i have to start yelling YOLO, getting drunk and having sex? Not at all. Because i have a brain and I don't think those things are right, despite what society portrays. Do i think i have to be a size two? No. I am fine just the way i am. So what about the kids that go out and get drunk, and have sex? They choose to do it. Society portrays it, but they don't make them believe it. Your parents may do it, but they don't MAKE you follow in their steps. You simply choose to.

What i'm saying is there are choices. You can choose to raise your kids the way you want. You can choose to stand up against society. You can choose to work at changing it. You can chose to do what others do. You can chose not too. But at the end of the day, no one is making you do a single thing you don't want to. We can't keep blaming others. They aren't making the choices in your life. It is all up to you. We all have the power to choose to do what's right and wrong. We can choose to change what society portrays. We can convey the right messages from a young age. It's a matter of finding what you believe in, sticking with it, and taking responsibility for it. Just remember that.