I graduated from high school in 1984. I did not go to proms or games because I was not in any 'in' crowd and it was socially painful for me even to attend high school, let alone any other associated activities. My kids were born in 85 and 91, and neither of them attended school activities after middle school because they both developed s…
I graduated from high school in 1984. I did not go to proms or games because I was not in any 'in' crowd and it was socially painful for me even to attend high school, let alone any other associated activities. My kids were born in 85 and 91, and neither of them attended school activities after middle school because they both developed severe symptoms of co-occurring brain disorders which took over their social lives. Neither of them, now, spend a lot of time in artificial worlds (internet, VR etc) and they are both, in their 30s, rebuilding lives that will sustain them. My dad grew up in Westby MT in the 40s and 50s (a graduating class of EIGHT). As a kid, I went to town fairs with my family in Westby, absolutely everyone knew each other, and the activities were things like greased pole climbing contests and burlap sack races. Big fun was had by all. We have gone through so much change in a short amount of time. I think we need to keep investing our time and energy into "the commons" for young people, so they have options of connecting IRL. A provocative post today, thank you!
Ahh this is such insight, and I appreciate it so much. The ability to see how others live, how they found their way, is HUGE to understanding this collective experience, so this is invaluable. I so agree, we need to keep investing in the commons, the basics, and give kids a chance to see they are so very not alone.
I graduated from high school in 1984. I did not go to proms or games because I was not in any 'in' crowd and it was socially painful for me even to attend high school, let alone any other associated activities. My kids were born in 85 and 91, and neither of them attended school activities after middle school because they both developed severe symptoms of co-occurring brain disorders which took over their social lives. Neither of them, now, spend a lot of time in artificial worlds (internet, VR etc) and they are both, in their 30s, rebuilding lives that will sustain them. My dad grew up in Westby MT in the 40s and 50s (a graduating class of EIGHT). As a kid, I went to town fairs with my family in Westby, absolutely everyone knew each other, and the activities were things like greased pole climbing contests and burlap sack races. Big fun was had by all. We have gone through so much change in a short amount of time. I think we need to keep investing our time and energy into "the commons" for young people, so they have options of connecting IRL. A provocative post today, thank you!
Ahh this is such insight, and I appreciate it so much. The ability to see how others live, how they found their way, is HUGE to understanding this collective experience, so this is invaluable. I so agree, we need to keep investing in the commons, the basics, and give kids a chance to see they are so very not alone.