Young People

"Back in the day," when I was preparing myself seriously to do library work (eg. a masters degree in Library Science) today's so-called "young people" were called "young adults." Perhaps this was wishful thinking (?), that we were just going to be working with the younger part of the adult spectrum if we worked in this specialization.

In the last decade or two it seems that the way behavior plays out and is encouraged has changed this a bit. People who reach the voting age, who are more or less expected to leave home, can drink legally, etc., are now (more or less) tolerated as a version of continuous teenagers, in dress, habits, employment & unemployment, residences, etc. There is no obligation to "grow up" necessarily, what's the point? What is it to be "grown up," and who cares?

Talking to local "teens" in the last few years, there are with few exceptions any people who have strong adult tendencies (what ever those are?). When asked what their expectations were to be post high school situation a couple mentioned working for Wal Mart, hopefully as fork lift operators. Others mentioned the local vo tech schools, possibly working with computers or something. And now I realize that I need to "revisit" the situation, try and understand it more.

Part of this is the possibility that I may be able to visit and exchange ideas with a writing class in a nearby high school. Another was the request by the one young fellow who has worked on our place with great distinction for a letter to support his case for a scholarship. This young man is so exceptional, so deserving of support, and I/we feel honored to be asked to write a letter. I only wish there were more of him, and my understanding could have more depth because of them.