The Shallow and the Stupid

Because of my lifetime experiences, my personality has changed for the better; where the insignificant things people do might not matter to others, they matter to me for the simple fact it is a direct reflection of their vanity, superficiality, and sheer ignorance of the world, its inhabitants, and how it works. Everything I have, I earned, I bought, and I sacrificed for. I can’t say the same for most people I go to school with. My generation needs to find more important things to focus their lives on instead of the trivial and insignificant.

"Oh my god, I can't believe he did that to her! He's going to pay for that, I still can't believe they are together. Didn't he cheat on her?"

This is only one instance of people complaining about stupid things that, in the grand scheme of things, do not really matter to anyone but the individual and their crowd from Laguna Beach. Please tell me that there are other things on this earth that matter more than someone else’s relationship or the drama that surrounds it. Individuals who get caught up in that apparently have nothing significant going on in their lives so they get wrapped up in someone else’s. A prime example of that is the fixation on Reality TV. Keeping that in mind, there are other groups that do it also, mainly military guys and sometimes the jocks get wrapped up in the insignificant.

“Hey man, you won’t believe this chick I went home with last night. Yeah, me and Smith, we both had a shot, it was freakin’ awesome! So easy, just going to the bar and finding them out there - willing and waiting.”

The tragic thing about that is, and has been my experience, that this isn’t restricted to the stereotypical dumb jock. Military guys in particular keep on with the macho bull that surrounds their sexual escapades and is an indicator of their masculinity by how much they can score. Unfortunately, no matter what group you look at, it is always a competition in that realm. No one really cares how much you score, because if that’s how you base your achievements as you should be maturing and growing up, maybe you are in the wrong line of work. With growing up comes acceptance; it does take on many forms.

To be accepted by other young adults means having the best car, the best clothes, the most money, and a great clique of friends. This is the best example of being vain and superficial that is normally started mostly in high school and often does continue into the realm of college. This is in no way pointing the finger at anyone in particular, but the saying goes “birds of a feather flock together”. The crowd from Laguna Beach as it were is everywhere, driving the BMWs or Land Rovers their parents bought them, wearing a t-shirt that costs $50, and wearing the sunglasses that not even Paris Hilton could pull off. Those not as fortunate, mostly the people who had to incur heavy debt or experience tremendous sacrifice are left out and looked down on, whether it is for the car they drive, the way they look, or even the amount of money they have. College, for the kids who have a free ride provided by their parents, are just extending the drama of high school because once again, they care about the things that don’t matter. Jenna slept with Alex’s boyfriend! How was Sissy dressed at the frat party? Valerie dented her Land Rover because she hit a sign while talking about her botox injection on the phone! Why do the superficial things matter?

All that aside, after college, how popular you were, how much money your parents have, the car you drove, the clothes you wore, and the topics of your every-day, sad, shallow lives will not matter. I know I’m not popular, I dress decently, and I’ve had to work hard for what I have, paying the ultimate sacrifice almost for a few things. My friends, clothes, and car do not define me as a grown man; my accomplishments, my personality, and my ambition mark me as an individual. While the shallow and the superficial mark our adolescent and young adulthood, I am an adult. My parents do not pay or help with anything. What is mine I have bought myself. My education is on my time and my dime. I don't know about everyone else, but at the end of the day it is nice to answer to one person who pays my bills and takes care of my problems, no one else.