Miranda Sings and Other Things

Sometimes I just miss being a teenager.  Every moment of life is so important, all eyes are on you--even when they are not.  Your voice has great importance in the world--or so you believe.  What you do matters.  It's socially acceptable to be zany and quirky and goofy and even obnoxious.

Today is picture day at school, and the senior girls wanted to make funny faces because these photos really don't matter.  They aren't their "senior pictures".  They are only used for school issued IDs that they don't even have to carry around with them.  This trend of goofing up the pics started a few years back when all the senior boys decided to wear the ugliest Bill Cosby sweaters they could find.  One year kids wore those big, black-framed Erkel glasses.  It's just silly.  Innocent and silly.  But it matters so much to them.  They plan their outfits days in advance.

Today the girls dressed up as the "you tube" sensation, Miranda Sings.  If you haven't heard of her, here's a clip of some of her work.

A group of girls donned their denim buttom-down shirts and bright red lipstick and got all excited to make faces that suggest they are either constipated or trying really hard to pass gas.  They got some push back from administration and the photographer because the state mandates that schools have a legitimate, usable photo identification of all pupils.  These girls were prepared to stand their ground.

I watched as they insisted, "No, this is how I wear my lipstick," or "this is my normal face."  They huddled together afterward in giggles and pride at their success.  Oh, the joys of youth.

My mind has been racing since I got out of the car this morning because I'm fuming mad over the latest iniqiuty of our education system.  NPR told the story of students and teachers at Madison Park (read about it here) who don't have schedules yet because the state has taken over the school in an effort to "improve" it.  Test scores should soar now that the kids aren't even going to classes.  Perhaps just let the teachers and administrators do their jobs?

I'm worried sick about the ISIS faction being the richest terrorist group because they are able to violently steal oil and bride officials to get the "verifications" they need for oil resale.  I worry about bills and debt and what's to make for dinner.  The health of my parents, the safety of my children.  Pretty much everything.

My mind constantly races with worry to the point where I have almost forgotten how to just relax and have fun.  So, as I watched the girls with their bright red lips hysterically laughing at themselves for being teenage goofballs, I felt a pang of envy for their innocence, for their giddy and jovial spirits because of all that doesn't really matter much to them.

Yes, knowledge is power, and if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.  I know.  But it is also true that ignorance is bliss.  

SWAK,
C.K.