IS IT me or are today’s youth feeling a tad too self-entitled?
By the way, my definition of youth is anyone under 30, which should give you an idea where I stand in this cycle that we call life.
Last year, a makeup artist in Manila told me I didn’t look a year older than 48.
It might have been the prospect of going through several interviews on camera in one of the studios inside the ABS-CBN complex on Mother Ignacia Ave. in Quezon City that had numbed my senses because I didn’t flinch when a younger version of me would have automatically wrung her neck. But nary a reaction. Not even a wince.
So there might have been a slight gasp and my heart probably stopped for a second or two, but I quickly regained my composure after I took a glance at my reflection in the mirror.
She was right, the makeup artist who turned out to be a transplanted Cebuana. With proper lighting, I could even be mistaken for 47.
After all, what is age?
I for one stopped counting when I turned 36, which would probably explain why I stayed 36 for nearly a decade.
But why talk about how old I am when I should be discussing the foibles of the young.
Mind you, it’s not entirely their fault. They’re victims of their upbringing. Their parents brought them up to believe they were God’s gift to mankind.
And that would have been okay.
I understand that there are many out there who actually believe their children to be little darlings who can do no wrong. And they’re entitled to that belief as long as their children remain in the confines of their homes.
But as soon as the little darlings step outside their doors, they must be prepared to face a much larger world.
To survive, they must be armed with the knowledge of what’s wrong and what’s right. Once they have that as part of their armor, they must learn to take responsibility for their actions and to be mindful of others.
It doesn’t take a genius, really. But many of them don’t seem to be aware or simply don’t care.
And when you call them out for overstepping the bounds, they act surprised. Or feel slighted.
That must have been the reaction of the more than 800 motorists who were issued Temporary Operator’s Permits last May 26 and 27 after they were apprehended for various traffic offenses.
Didn’t they know they were not allowed to drive motorcycles without helmets? Some were even caught without their driver’s licenses or the registrations for their vehicles.
Gosh, I’m ranting.
But I guess when you get to be my age, you’re entitled to vent out life’s frustrations.