Too many times I have heard phrases like:
“I will be so glad when the day is over. I am so swamped that I need more than 24-hours in the day to get everything done!” Or
“My brain is so fried, I could pop!” or
“I can’t get a break! Every time I think the train is slowing down, something else pops up at the last minute!”
And this is from adults who deal with this type of life behavior, attitudes and adjustments every day.
We as adults have learned, over the long haul, how to deal with “life” and the hand it deals us on a daily basis. But when I think of the struggles we have as adults in dealing with the everydayness of life, I can’t help but to think of the kids of today and the stress they deal with on a daily basis. I do not ever remember having to deal with this type of daily stress when I was growing up. Of course that was long ago, but who is counting anyway.
I stand in the hallways everyday to see the faces of a generation who continues to struggle in trying to figure things out. I want to connect with the young ones who are dealing with the idea of being away from home, and now are trying to just get adapted to life with many strangers. I want to connect to the older ones who think they know what is going on, but have been mislead by many facets of their young life and try to get them to see that getting from this side of the road to the other side is not as easy as they think.
Then on top of all of this, I think of their studies, their social life, their home life, their relationship with their parents who are, in many cases, far away mentally. I think of the social media pressure, the peer pressure, and the invite they continually get from an instantaneous society that says they must get it right now.
When I think about it, I sometime wonder why they are so misbehaved in class; not only here at school, but everywhere. I wonder if this is their way of letting out the confusion in their mind? Maybe they just really need an easy ear to listen or a gentle shoulder to lean on. Maybe they need someone to help them filter through the “stuff” and get out of the “rough.”
Think about this. We sometimes have a hard time dealing with the daily grind and trying to put all the pieces together. We have been doing it for a lot longer. I wonder how difficult it must be for a young mind who is just starting to develop those traits. Maybe their brain is so fried, or every time they think they can take a break or their day is so swamped….
I know! That is why I stand in the halls to see their face every day. I want to be the easy ear.