Life Less Seriously

I know, I stole the less seriously line from an 1980's song, but it came to mind today... As I was sipping my morning coffee and watching the sheeple panic inducing Today show. The populist program was doing a quick piece on bullying and suicide, specifically about some teens in Ohio, that were bullied for their differences, ultimately leading to their suicides.
I have always stood by my simple belief that teens are wolves. The alphas will circle the omegas until they are kicked out of the pack. I am not sure what omega wolves do from there, but I believe they become "lone wolves" until they find another pack...
But suicide is not the answer for the wolves. Why is it for the humans?? I can certainly appreciate and remember how when you are a human teen "fitting in" seemed like life and death. It was crazy. And of course humans are more analytical than wolves and take this omega status so much more to heart--thus the resulting depression.
But what if we could somehow stop taking the "pack" so seriously? Easier said than done, but part of the problem is our rat-race society, and the resulting inflexibility.
I always go on and on, about how nobody seems to care about education in Alaska--but there is actually a silver lining to all that. It's the home-school, GED is ok, whatever mentality. One of my coworkers in Alaska nonchalantly remarked how instead of high school she just dropped out at 14, got her GED and lived in a cabin and worked in Girdwood. No big deal. But to someone coming from NJ--it sounded sooo outrageous.
Would it help if more bullied teens felt they had such flexible options? If you don't fit in, feel bullied, whatever, just leave the school. What if there was more support to just find a new school, get home schooled, get your GED and start community college...?(I don't ever feel no education is an answer).

But people might just freak out about these alternatives, they take it all so seriously...like leaving school will screw up their college transcripts..or they need to tough it out. Well the "tough it out" thing doesn't really fly anymore, as these days job-jumping is the norm as well. Besides, so many of these "different" kids are actually the geniuses of tomorrow, they can't fit in, nor should they. Colleges certainly respect home-schooled kids and GED kids, especially if they do something productive. (I know of a kid in Chicago who dropped out of high school to start a nightclub and went on to become a genetic engineer)
I don't proclaim to have all the answers to this sad and complex issue, but a bit of flexibility couldn't hurt....sending a howl for all those omegas out there!

The Kids in America

Let me begin, by stating --yes, I know not all teens are ever the same. And for every bad seed, there are plenty of good citizens...But I can't help but tie three little news tid-bits together into one tidy rant & rave...
So here goes: In the past week three little news stories caught my eye. 1- The teen girls in Minnesota who got their jollies by taunting elderly patients in their care (including sexually). 2-The trend of "sextext" or whatever I spelled wrong there--but the "quaint" little hobby of sending naked pics of yourself to others, supposedly 20% of teens (admit) they have done so. And #3- That finally a bigger & better study came out saying what I knew all along--teens ARE in fact influenced by what they see on TV, movies, internet etc.. (duh)
These cute little news items are a pretty nice picture of what happens in a country like ours. A place where the media & internet are god and when kids have more disposable time and income than in any other time in history. (re: a license to be immature brats)
The parents of these kiddies have gone to school, worked hard and chased the American dream to raise their kids in prosperity--but why I ask? So they can become little snots who don't even care about their school work (96% admit to cheating at school) and obsess about each others sexual organs? In this age of Youtube, insta-porn and millions of TV & movie options, all we do is raise little perverts. I mean 20 years ago it was unimaginable that girls would sexualize the experience of working with Alzheimer's patients. Sure, there have always been deranged loons out there, but for girls to brag about it--has shown a strange "normalization" in teen society today.
So, I don't have the answer just yet. Maybe a ton of censorship would be a nice start-- and secondly, growing up a little. But that's wishful thinking.