Seems it's Easier to Find a Hollister Store Than it is to Find Yourself

   Misguided Ghosts- Paramore

   When people think of the word “teenager” all sorts of clichés come to mind, such as, “These are the best years of your life,” and, “Enjoy your youth while it lasts!” Well, in my personal opinion, being a teenager is nowhere near all it’s cracked up to be. The song “Misguided Ghosts” by Paramore represents the ever haunting feeling of trying to figure out who you are.

  
   You see, when you’re little, you dream of being a teenager. “Oh, the big kids get to do everything!” You just can’t wait to be like them, but once you’re there… you just want it to be over with. Yes, as a teenager you don’t have to worry about bills, and kids, and what not, but you still have worries- they may not be as significant as adult worries- but they’re still present. Popularity can often be the biggest worry amongst adolescence.

   An “average” teenager strives to fit in. They can buy the right clothes, have the right hair, say the right things, and yet they still aren’t part of the “in-crowd.”  Why not? They ask themselves this question constantly. Why am I not good enough? Childish things such as popularity can seriously distort a child’s view of his/herself. I believe Paramore states it perfectly when they say “I’m trying to find my place, but it might not be here where I feel safe.” This statement reflects the feeling of trying to find who you are as a person, yet wanting to be a part of the “cool kids.” Trying to be a part of such things can alter your path in finding yourself, it can veer off in a direction that you may not necessarily need to go.

   I was one of those kids who yearned for acceptance. I tried my best to buy the right brand-names and do the right things, but it was never what I really wanted. So, my eighth grade year I decided I was going to be myself finally. I dropped the Hollister act and headed over to Hot Topic. I was done trying to be somebody I’m not. In the process, I lost many people who I considered my friends, but I also came to know who really liked me for myself. It’s not an easy process, becoming who you truly are, after being someone you’re not for so long. That’s why I believe many teenagers never get the chance to truly be themselves due to the fact that they just want to fit in.
 

   “The ones we trusted the most, pushed us far away.” Paramore understands that being a teenager and trying to find who you are is not easy. “This is life; pain is just a simple compromise, so we can get what we want out of it.” When you finally find yourself, you can either “…compromise…”, or finally, “...get what you want out of it.”

A Heartache Across the World

The inspiration for this thINK assignment was a letter written in 1952, by a woman, named Louise Duquette, to her husband, Norman Duquette, who was overseas at the time. Louise's Letter



  Do you know what it's like to have a loved one in the military who's been sent to war? There's nothing like the feeling of wondering whether or not you'll ever speak to that person again. In the letter that Louise Duquette sent to her husband in 1952, Louise displayed affection and bittersweet feelings. It was evident that she, along with their two small children, missed their husband and father greatly; "...it is high time you are coming home because Jan is beginning to call every man she sees in a magazine 'Daddy'."
 
  Reading her letter reminded me of the multiple times I had to say goodbye to my father, a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force, who went on to become a U.S. Army Sniper. When you're young, it's not always easy to understand why Daddy isn't home with you, or why you only see him two, three times a year. How do you explain that to a child? I can completely relate with the little girl that was mentioned in the letter; when you're little and Daddy isn't near, you start to forget who he even is. I can't possibly imagine how Lieutenant Duquette felt when he read that his little girl was calling different men- that she didn't know- "daddy."

  Although serving in the military is a wonderful thing to do for your country, being left behind for months, and months, at a time is never easy. Thankfully, this story has a good ending.  Lieutenant Duquette was reunited with his family after spending a horrible 587 days as a North Korean prisoner of war. In the year 1998 he returned to Korea, to visit his son John, a Lieutenant Colonel in the army who was stationed in Seoul. Being a child left while a parent is at war isn't easy, but there can still be a happy ending, after all.