A Teenage Hypocrite's Speech on Teens
88Introduction and Background
I wrote this speech when I was a freshman in high school, a full fourteen years of age. Normally my school assignments would be relegated to the abyss that engulfs all pointless writing, but this particular piece seems to have touched the minds and hearts of a great silent minority. I've posted it on different sites and because of the responses I've gotten I've decided to put it back up on the Internet, to encourage the intelligent youths I know may be reading.
As for the background. This speech was to be a five minute long oral presentation on whatever pet peeve I felt like discussing. It had to have three main points. Rather then fight the system I decided at this age that it's better to break the system from within. No corrections or touch ups have been made since I passed it in. Do enjoy.
The Speech
Good evening dear audience. As you all know I am here to discuss one of the most irksome aspects of the society in which I live in. I have come to talk to this adoring audience about a light-hearted and sometime humorous topic of the typical teen-age stereo-type as the announcer has already told you.
Now I'd like to start out my little speech by telling you all that I am a people watcher. All my life from the time I was barely able to talk until now I have always preferred to watch the people around me rather then actually participating in any of their activities. It is because of this that I am so bold in pointing out all that bothers me about my teen-age peers.
One of the most prominent issues brought up by this people watching is the fact that teen-agers like for some reason to sound unintelligent and unsophisticated. Whatever they say does the opposite of command respect. For instance if I hear one more person use the catch phrase "whazzup" or use the word "like" 30 times in one sentence I just may be tempted to do or say something terribly rash.
I admit I was never the typical teen or the typical girl for that matter. And there are a few reasons for this but mainly I just see the life of a teen-age girl pointless, utterly exhausting and quite frankly lame. Back to the topic of how teen-agers talk though there is one thing you'll never find me doing and that is talking on the phone for 2 or 4 hours to one of my friends explaining some useless teen-age drivel and frivolous banter. I have no idea how girls can get on the phone and yap away for hours on end to some one they've already spent the entire day with. Perhaps it's just me.
One thing that's even more bothersome then the phone talk however is the lack of any intelligent vocabulary. I find myself constantly dumbing down my speech and explaining vocabulary they should already know like "banter", "haughty", "enthralled", "caviar", "albeit", and "lewd." It's quite sad to think that these, my friends, are the smarter of the general masses. It's quite pathetic indeed.
However you have to hand it to them, whatever teen-age girls lack in vocabulary they make up by adding drama to everything. I don't know about any one else but I'm quite sick of the drama queen acts myself. You all know the girl that just exclaims "oh but Johnny doesn't love me! I could just die!" or "Today was the absolute worst day of my life. I'm never going back for as long as I live!" Personally I am quite annoyed by the over use of exclamations and the absurd over exaggerations.
However it's no small wonder why they talk the way they do. I blame the media, their music and their literature of which I'll be only talking about the latter since the media would take another half an hour to critique.
All the girls I know of listen to pop music. This wouldn't be so bad if they actually all enjoyed it and there was actually something worthwhile to listen to but it's not. Pop music is the death of anything good in the music industry. The bands don't even write their own music or play their own instruments. Worse still they don't even sound good. I think they sound like either a dying goat or a cat caught in the fan belt of a car. The only reason these girls listen to such fluff is that they are supposedly cute. Now I'm not a genius or anything nor do I claim to be but when I listen to music it's my ears doing the listening not my eyes. So where does this whole cute factor fit in anyway?
I'm also ostracized by my own peers and called abnormal for my own individualistic view on life. Just because I'd rather watch some old band on the Ed Sullivan Show that actually writes their own music and plays their own instruments and not the queen of pop Miss Britney Spears flaunt her bare skin and lip sinc on MTV does not mean I'm abnormal. On the contrary I think it leads one to believe I'm just smarter then the masses. And don't get me wrong, this isn't some slanderous anti-social statement, it's just my blunt black and white view of my own peers.
Popular reading materials aren't much better then the music industry. Their woeful lack of vocabulary and absolutely pathetic plotlines make even the best of these only worth fire starters. I tried reading some of these books once. I got through 3 pages before I got so irked at the complete and absolute simplicity that I threw it across the room in frustration. I think I would have learned more from reading "See Spot Run" than from those books. Quite simply put I am aggravated with the dull meaningless platitudes, not to mention the four for a dollar romances that fill the shelves. I have always been a true believer that quantity is NOT quality. I like conviction in my reading materials, even if I don't agree with that is being stated I admire the writer for having the guts to say it.
However the total lack of meaning in a teen-agers life is what bothers me above all else. For most teen-agers it is their only goal in life to fit in. I myself rather like not fitting in, because to fit in means to conform. Let me demonstrate my point.
All of the "typical teen-agers" I know have a whole set of unwritten rules and ethics that rule their piddley little lives. One of them is to never say anything that may even be remotely offensive to anyone in your presence with the exception of profuse profanity, which in my personal opinion makes you look like you should be on the Jerry Springer Show. Now, courtesy can be a good thing but not when it rules your life. There are certain situations in which it is most appropriate to stand for what you believe in, state what you really feel and not worry about what others think of such a bold move. I myself do this every day and perhaps this is why I have so few friends, because no one can put up with me. I'm all the happier for it though because the few friends I do have know who I am and not who they think I am.
I am also a bit of a loner. I don't conform to any clique. To me teen-agers cluster together in groups and try to fit themselves into a perfect mold. It is however like jamming a square nail in a round slot. I would never stoop so low as to alter all my opinions, what music reading and hobbies I enjoy just to fit in. I think it's horrible myself that anyone would do this.
My peers shudder at my words. They see individuality, at least in the sense I see it as a threat to the way they live. Just merely telling them about individuality is most akin to teaching the dog quantum physics. They care way too much of what people think about them to be themselves and that's why they are always paranoid and overly concerned about everything. For instance what cuts me from the herd is I don't care diddley-squat if Johnny loves me or the most popular girl in town approves of me. On the contrary I find myself very approving of the fact the populars shun me. To me this means I am doing my job, and doing it well.
An End Note
I got a 99% on this project with a point taken off, not for grammatical error, but for "lacking enthusiasm." I didn't change my normal speech patterns (absolute monotone) to deliver this speech, and I wouldn't today either.
If you are one of those precious few intellectual teenagers please don't ever let the system crush your spirit or tell you who you need to be. When you can't break the rules just find ways to bend them. Eventually it'll have the same effect - collapse of the system. Be who you are to be, and never let anyone stand in your way to being an individual.
A Note to my Readers
I had no idea so many people had commented on this article so I'd like to take the time to thank all of you and say that I am absolutely delighted to see this speech has caused such a diverse set of reactions! I also would like to respond and answer a few questions. For all you who loved my speech and who would like to use it in a presentation I will give you express permission (so long as you give proper credits, no plagiarizing please.) If you need my full name for this send me an e-mail. I don't like having it posted publicly online. Also thank you, I know most of you are younger, and I would like to say once you get older finding people who suit your own intellectual needs will become much easier. There will still be a world full of sheep but at least you'll be able to raise above the heard to find the black ones. ;) And finally someone asked if you could be bad at certain things (like spelling) and still be intelligent. Of course! When I wrote this speech I could scarcely spell anything and due to my dyscalculia I couldn't even do the most basic of math. That didn't mean I couldn't hold my own in a debate about world news, politics, psychology, science, religion, or whatever else! We're all different, celebrate what you're good at and be thankful for it.
Now for all you who had criticisms... Yes, I fully admit as a 14 year old I was quite hostile towards my dumb peers. Maybe I was angry they kept slamming me into lockers and teasing the shit out of me for having a personality. Maybe it just pissed me off the teachers always gave me a hard time while passing them up a grade because they didn't want to see them back next year. I don't recall anymore but I can tell you what I've evolved into today. I must say that people who seem to be *purposely* stupid still annoy me like no one's business. I have grown social skills that help me be cordial and friendly to everyone I meet, however I fully admit I am not going to go out of my way to befriend anyone on my own unless I feel I can have a decent conversation or debate with them. I don't really see the point of keeping someone around otherwise. Is that elitist? I don't really think so, I think it's more catering towards finding a compatible personality. All humans do that. They bond over hobbies, sports, jobs, music, support groups, whatever. My common element just happens to be verbosity. So be it. And if you still hate me for this that's fine too. I learned a long time ago I couldn't (and didn't want to) please everyone anyway.
Thanks for reading everyone, I'm off for now, but feel free to keep adding comments. I'll check in every now and then.
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Er, alright, but make sure to give credits, few places look well upon what they see to be plagarism. Good luck.
Fantastic article, very well done
What is your name? This speech is very fantastic indeed.
My name? I go by Theophanes in these parts but at the time of that speech I was signing it Typhani :)
Hey.... I am a forensics student and I've fallen in love with your speech.... I just need 2 make sure of a couple of things.... Was this speech actually given in a competition?
This wasn't written for competition but as an English assignment. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression but I'm delighted to hear it has another fan. Feel free to ask me any questions.
Forensics is such a wonderful feild! Best wishes in your future endeavors.
Great speech!
This is great. I acclaim that. Im 16
This is great. I acclaim that. Im 16
This is great. I acclaim that. Im 16
This is an awesome, spectacular speech, I love it!! You're such a good writer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is such a good speech. You've persuaded people, and used humor. May I ask what the title of this speech is?
Considering you were 14 at the time, the speech was well written. I agree totally that the media have affected the speech and even intelligence level of some teenagers. However I'm not sure if I agree with some of your opinions.
Fitting into a clique usually doesn't mean changing your opinions and music etc. People dont change their opinions to fit in with groups , they fit in with groups because they enjoy the same things.
"Popular" music is only called "popular" music because alot of people enjoy it. The music on the Ed Sullivan Show would also have been pop music in its time (however I commend you for still listening to it.) Most of the time we listen to pop music because we enjoy it! "The bands don't even write their own music or play their own instruments. Worse still they don't even sound good." Who cares if they're not playing their own instruments, that doesn't mean the music isn't fun to listen to. As for pop literature, the first example which comes to mind is the Harry Potter series, which were the first novels ever read by millions of children and introduced them to reading, and while it is agreeably not the highest form of intellectual literature, it was still entertaining!
Having friends and being social is a huge part of most teenager's lives. Everyone seeks both acceptance and respect from someone, it would be a terrible life if nobody accepted or respected you. Teenagers "fit in" with their friends because they are accepted and respected by them, they don't try to fit in so they will be.
Reading this, you may think I am one of those people you are criticising and are simply defending my opinions...I listen to classical musical mostly, but my favourite type is Musicals. At school I make an effort to hang around with four separate (completely different) groups of friends. With each group I change neither the way I speak nor my opinions. Each group have a different level of intelligence and speaks accordingly, none of them try to sound stupid or intelligent just because they are with their friends.However, if your peers really did change their speech, actions, opinions and feelings on culture as you so defiantly state, then I'm glad you weren't friends with any of them
-Jaz
Finally. Hah, now I just look like a retard for posting a huge comment three times.
Akbar Achirudin : I don't think this speech ever had a title, or was just called "Pet Peeves." :)
Jaz: Sorry Hubpages does weird things with formatting sometimes. I deleted your repeats so you don't look like a "retard" ;)
Thank you for commenting. I am happy this speech at least got some people thinking. I'm going on twenty four so forgive me if my response isn't everything you want it to be... this was a long time ago for me!
In any event, I was aware then as I am now that "pop" music has always been around and that I favored antiquated pop music (sometimes going as far back as Swing!) My problem was the fact I was ostracized and teased relentlessly for it! Eventually I'd branch out and start listening to little bits of everything... NONE of which was EVER encouraged by any of my peers. They saw me as weird.
And yes I did witness a lot of the little boogers change their opinions, speech patterns, tastes, etc just to fit in or be cool or get on someone's good side. It was repulsive to me then and is still repulsive to me now.
I'll be honest. I was a complete lonar as a teenager. This isn't to say I didn't try to be social but even the misfit and special ed cliques grew to completely disavow me for reasons I still don't know. I was never in Special Ed, that could have been the reason for them, but the others? No idea. Even my best friend since grade school completely abandoned me because I was asexual and she just didn't understand and didn't want to. I was too much of a freak for her because of this one personality quirk. (I've written about that subject too here on HubPages.) Often I felt like an alien put on planet earth as I had nothing in common with anyone and wouldn't until after highschool. Highschool sucked and was a part of my life I am sooo happy to be done with. If given the oppertunity to go back I'd rather kill myself. I crindge when I hear people say highschool is "the best time of your life!" RIGHT.
As for Harry Potter and other simple things.... never liked them, still don't, and still feel that though these things are fun sometimes that one should always try to grow as an individual and as a thinking mind. In other words... challenge yourselves! Stretch yourselves! Learn something from other great minds. It's a good thing.
All and all I am happy you appear to know who you are and what you are willing and not willing to do in order to fit in. It's nice to see as I don't think terribly many teens turn to such introspection anymore. I wish you the best of luck. As for me... I'll continue to rabblerouse. That's who I am and I'm proud of it. :)
Note: Nothing offensive meant...like yeah...blahblahblah.
I really do have no idea what you mean by the term `intellectual teenager'. I'm certainly a teenager. Intellectual? Possibly not, seeing as conforming to your standards of`intellectual teenagers' is quite a difficult task for me to accomplish.
For a fourteen year old, you really did use an unexpected amount of hyphens.
For a fourteen year old, you certainly wrote with an interestingly monotonous flair.
For a fourteen year old...you really did have an alarming superiority complex.
Little boogers?
Claiming that you were part of the smarter end of the general masses?
Oh my. You were certainly made nice judgements, didn't you?
How does one claim that they are smart, anyway?
Any trained monkey is able to reach "smart".
True intelligence however, is by far, the rarer commodity. And of far less worth in this jaded society.
Please, do not claim to be intellectual because of a few memorised words. You may be intelligent - I have no fair way of judging. However, do not underestimate those you insinuate are sheep. Do not underestimate pop culture. Because only the truly idiotic do that.
Hello Anatidae,
Happy to see you read this and put some thought into it. I wrote this ten years ago sooo... I can't exactly reply as my 14 year old self would have. Was I a bit of a snot? Oh Hell yeah. I'm not going to deny that but what teenager isn't a bit of a bastard from time to time? It’s our inalienable right as adolescents, just ask Salinger.
I wrote this back then because I felt like I was the only one with a brain in my general surroundings. I did see sheep... everywhere, and it pissed me off because I was the one everyone picked on for being different. I was slammed into lockers, disrespected, and pushed around by complete morons. Do I still feel hostile towards them? Not really, I've been tempered with age, though I maintain my misanthropy, just on a different more democratic level.
I can answer what I meant by intellectual though, to the best of my recollection. I meant someone who was not only intelligent but who *used* their intelligence. I saw the "smart" sheep pretending to be stupid all the time when I knew they weren't in order to fit in. I felt individuality and self-respect was far more important than fitting in. I also felt that teenagers as a group tended to be a bit... well.... dumb. Has this opinion changed with age? I wish I could say it has but no. I still think most of humanity is cannon fodder. Is that a superiority complex? Maybe. Am I hurting anyone with it? No. It still pisses people off in my writing though (which greatly amuses me.) Check out "A Misanthropic Asexual's Views on Dating" and you can see the evolution of my cantankerousness, and the lovely comments I still get for it.
As a side note, I was never cited for bad grammar, hyphens are not our enemies and at the time teenagers was spelled with a hyphen in the dictionary. English is not a static language! I remember when hamster had a p in it... :)
Please do tell me what the difference between a smart monkey and a dumb human is. I'd be delighted to know. (Seriously.) You can use the "Contact Theophanes" button at the top of the page if you'd rather e-mail me. You've got Moxie and I like that. Don't ever let your strongly opinionated mind decay, it'd be a tragedy. And at the risk of getting your panties tied into a bunch I must say your response to my essay reminds me sooo much of a younger me, righteous, indignant, opinionated, rife with an innocently naive enthusiasm. I thought I could change the world too, make people think the “right” way, my way. Age will come though and you’ll realize just how special we all are to have variety in thought, skill, and behavior. I'm still see pop culture as being a great dumbing down of art (for the most part - not all of it, nothing can be all bad apples.) If you want me to expand on that just ask a specific question and I'd be happy to.
Anyway, I must be off. Thank you for this little spar. It's put a smile on my face.
I am fourteen years old and I think at this point in time you might have over criticized a bit but for the most part I agree with most of what you said. I also learned a lot of new words:
(V) Beguile- To fill with wonder and delight
(V) Enthralled- Beguiled: filled with wonder and delight
(V) Relegate- To refer to another person for decision or judgment
(N) Platitude- a trite or obvious remark
(V/N) Piddle- To waste one’s time or use it inefficiently; a waste of time
(ADJ) Akin- similar in quality or character
(ADJ) Analogous- similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar
(N) Misanthropy- hatred for mankind
(N) Cannon Fodder- soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire
... so thank you.
I would like to talk to you a little more. My e-mail address is jaysononline1995@yahoo.com
I am fourteen years old and I think at this point in time you might have over criticized a bit but for the most part I agree with most of what you said. I also learned a lot of new words:
(V) Beguile- To fill with wonder and delight
(V) Enthralled- Beguiled: filled with wonder and delight
(V) Relegate- To refer to another person for decision or judgment
(N) Platitude- a trite or obvious remark
(V/N) Piddle- To waste one’s time or use it inefficiently; a waste of time
(ADJ) Akin- similar in quality or character
(ADJ) Analogous- similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar
(N) Misanthropy- hatred for mankind
(N) Cannon Fodder- soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire
... so thank you.
I would like to talk to you a little more. My e-mail address is jaysononline1995@yahoo.com
Amazing! Very true and well-written
I don't know if your still there, this post is very old, but I thought I would ask. Have you noticed that the "teenagers" your referring to have seemingly gotten younger. By that I mean that my sister (11 years old) has already started acting like the people in your speech above. The way our society works is amazing, it's like a never ending circle that is spiraling down towards the younger audiences. I just thought you would like to know, if your still there.
Oh and by the way I'm 14, I really enjoyed your speech. It's true. BYE
don't be offended but you say that you have never been cited for bad grammar, but actually, you used "then" instead of "than"...also you sound sooooooo full of yourself, like you're the best. YEAH RIGHT
The speach really sums up the teenage sterotype, I would've gotten hell for writing something like that in my current school, I still get teased for typing full sentances in a text message. I have to say though, in an odd way it was very inspiring. Rock on intellectual teens. Rock on.
Great speech, I loved it. I'm 15 and it just totally sumed up how I am feeling. Thanks:)
i belive every part of this speech just no transitions between your points by the wayy great intoduction and having a monotone isnt great in a speech its acctually very dull !
i happen to be 16
and am taking public speaking class
Note to self= stop judging others.
While much of what you said is true, (and being a 17 year old female, I think the same way about a lot of what you wrote) you sound very full of yourself. Kind of stuck-up and immature. Maybe provide a solution on your speech, telling these kinds of people what they can do better with their time. Embrace people and try to love them instead of looking down on them and maybe they won't feel the need to turn to silly things to make themselves look good. It's a viscious cycle.
Hi! I need to do a speech for my speech class, and I was wondering if you would givve me permission to do this one? I just need to know your name and the title. if you would prefer me not to do it, i completely understand. thank you!
Theophanes,
I am in Forensics and am using this speech for my oral declamation tournament. I hope that is okay. I love this speech. Absolutely love it! Who ever says this "lacks enthusiasm" is missing the obvious! I'm sure my peers and judge will enjoy this speech as much as i did when i read it. You've truly inspired me(: Keep writing your thoughts, it will lead to greatness!
Erica(:
This was a very inspiring speech. I am also 14 and agree with a lot of what you say here.
I have to say I agree with Emily. It's admirable that you can appreciate intelligence in the way that you do, however it becomes difficult to get a point across to the common masses unless you can relate to them. People are far more accepting of new ideas when they feel that they can identify at least in some way with what's being said.
I've learned that the hard way, as I used to view other people in the same way that you appear to. I was completely alienated from others, and ostracized for expressing my views.
However, I've learned in the past couple of years that all people have a good part of them, and while they may not be as intelligent, it gives me no right to view myself as superior to them just because I value education more than they do.
I've learned that the best way to reach people is to walk over to their side and take them by the hand, rather than staying on your own side and yelling at them to come to you. If you maintain such a negative view of other people, it will only eat away at you, and cause you unnecessary stress. Learning to embrace life and other people frees you from the anxiousness associated with a rather judgmental outlook toward others.
And I realize that this post is very old, so the chances of you reading this comment are quite slim. However I felt that I may as well get my point across.
liked ur speech but as i'm from india,i need more formal speech to present in front of the school,so i thought will u write another one like a formal one! but this was also amazing!!!!pls reply
You remind me of me; kudos for only being 14 at the time.
I'm 16 and I have similar viewpoints. I was lucky enough to get discovered early (although it did not come easy) and currently write for a local newspaper. I truly hope you've continued writing.
Well then.... this was quite possibly the most delightful piece of work I've read this year! All too true and damn necessary! I'm so thrilled that this is on the web. The lives of teenagers are pointless and so narrow-minded. I can't stand it when some arrogant little twit marches up to me and says something so blatantly unoriginal as 'you're ugly' or 'you're stupid.' Insults have such potential to be so original and refreshing, it dumbfounds me how so many can just waste all that opportunity! What’s worse are seeing those so-called ‘adults’ who never grow out of the fish-bowl of high school, you wonder if they‘ve ever had an original thought in their lives. Just the other day in English class I was having a debate about something or the other with the English teacher and effectively monopolizing the seminar due to the fact that none of the idiotically proclaimed pre-AP students knew what we were saying. I quite forget what the subject was but it wasn’t in the least bit complex, when this goat-faced girl with the blank eyes you generally only find amongst cattle declared “I hate people with big vocabularies, they’re so stupid!” and then glanced at me and laughed as if she had been clever somehow. I would pity them if I could get over the initial disgust. Anyway, this was certainly a wonderful read and an expression of a truly unique and individual personality. Obviously a worth while existence if you don’t mind me saying, from the style of writing that’s my impression. Thanks for this.
May I use your speech for a presentation? If so that would be wonderful, I will of course need your name and a title that way I can give credits.
-Morgan
I find your speech useful and it also helps with daily life as well...
I'm 14 and I have similar viewpoints when you were at my age and I agree with you that everybody should be themselves instead of being in a social clique(although I might have one but my clique are being themselves than conforming to any other cliques. My clque prefers to study instead of being obsessed into something else). Do write more motivational stories like this as well. :)
wow, there is alot of mixed critisism for this speech. I for a fact love it and authough im not the best student (and i don't claim that i am) I can still see the side of this that makes it a brilliant speech. I do have one small dissagreement though. my grammer is pritty bad and spelling atrocious but im still concidered smart by some of my peers ('hay james your smart, what do you do here' for example). What im trying to say is, do you need to be perfect to not be a sheep?
im thirteen almost forteen and still admire how you structured this speech.
(to show my point i have left all spelling mistakes in here as google chrome has a spell check)
james
this is so cool and very motivational. I am talking on my assembly this week and i think this is really going to help me.
thank you for helpiing me do my project.i copied this as my examples ofpeeches.continue doing a speech .well done. good job
IT SEEMS LIKE YOU"RE TRYING TO BE LIKE VALENTINE FROM ENDERS GAME.
very nice.. i can use this on my presentation
As the mother of a 14 year old, I can honestly just sit & smile. The confusion of these teenage years will pass and if your brave enough to stay onboard for the ride it will be well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this speech, Thank you so very much.
ur name plz?
I would really like to use this speech for a competitione. Would you give me your name please? Thank you
i would really liike to use this speech for a declemation contest. what is your name please because i want to be sure to give you credit for writing the speech. Thank You
Cool speech! Surprising that you wrote it so young, it sounds to good and truthful to be made by a teenager! I agree with the stuff you say.....though you probably could have said it with a little less bluntness.
I am a fourteen year old girl and I agree with every word.
Wonderful speech! I wrote a similar one at a similar age on the hideousness of teenage language - also delivered in a complete monotone. Isn't it fun?
very good speech
very nice speech
I'm an English teacher in Zimbabwe with a lot of concern for Zimbabwean teens, especially young teens, who are conforming to this MTV-lifestyle you've mentioned. When I did my Masters in Boston it was such a breath of fresh air to see teens who came out to openly read classic novels, create great science projects and work hard in athletics practice. Here the rich kids all believe they can't stoop so low to be Zimbabwean, so they study American media (MTV etc) and get only the very worst of teenage American culture as a guideline to their lives. Its painful to see kids much like the way you were having to fit into the sassy, rude, air-brained image because being themselves somehow creates an impression that they are economically inferior to the rest. I'm going print your speech as a handout for my new class of 14-15-year-olds as an example of emotive language to discuss the feelings and thoughts provoked by your use of language. It will be interesting to see their reaction to an American girl who is not acting like the ones they see on TV - thanks!
very good one.................
Bitch, please? Why you talking crap about my fam! We talk properly, like, all the time!
No, I'm kidding. I completely understand the fury of being called a stereotypical teenager because I do not act, or speak like them. Most of the teenagers that I know are foul-mouthed bitches or indecent boys. Yet I am happy to know that I can at least be safe in the knowledge it will be me laughing in 10 years time when I have my university degree and they have a certificate for 'Employee of the month' in McDonald's. If I knew you, I think we would get along. Many of my friends share the same views, and it infuriates us that we have to be part of this generation.
WOW thats an amazing speech i agree with everthing you've said i wish i could write like that are you an author you'd be a fantsatic wrighter!!!!
Wow. I completely agree with what you wrote when you were fourteen. Glad to hear a lot of people agree with me because my peers seem to reject my ideas of good music and literature. Also, the media has completely engulfed the minds of this generation, and not in the best of ways. Anyway, I enjoyed reading this so thank you for posting it :)
This speech was fantastic, it really put into words what I would like to tell my peers.
And for those who are going on about her claiming she's an intelectual, remember that she is comparing her self to her peers and by the way she wrote the sppech I waould have to agree with her on the intelectual front
Zimticha - Thank you so much for your comment, it left me really touched. I hope it can help your students be proud of who they are as individuals and I am sorry to hear our invasive culture is doing it's best to dumb down the rest of the world. It's infuriating, even now I am in my late 20's. If you get a chance to read this do let me know how giving this to your students went. I'd be fascinated to know! Teachers have a hard job and I very much admire the good ones!
And to all the rest of you intellectual teens... hang in there! Life does get better! As you get older and you start leaving home and exploring the world you will meet other brilliant souls on your journey. This will make the hell of our teenage years worth it, I promise. :) Thank you so much for your comments. I love to hear from you via comments or even the occasional e-mail I get. It makes me so proud of all you. Cheers.
So I am going over all the comments today and I see some of you think my speech was too harsh, that it would never convince anyone to come over to my side. My answer to this is that I wasn't trying to convince anyone of anything I was just stating my own opinion (and in doing such apparently hit a chord with some of you.) I am also told I sound "full of yourself." I was 14 when I wrote this of course I was full of myself! :)
I would like to note that my abrasive social context has smoothed out over the years, I'm a tolerant person but I still much prefer to be in the company of intellectuals and individualists and I'm still annoyed by people who seem to have no genuine personality of their own. The older I grow the more I realize this is not an age thing but age does make it easier to find others like yourself so stick in there teenagers, life isn't always that bad.
Hello. First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm kyla, 17y/o this year in currently stay at Malaysia. Well, do you know that I keep practising your speech evryday because your typed a beautiful words and grammar(when I read it, its look like I'm really fluent in english). The point I send this is I'd like to say thank you because make me interesting in english(the another one reason why I love english). You know, the way I talk in english also change a bit. I mean, its become better than before. Thank you =D
Celestine: Yes, "teenagers" are getting younger, mostly due to the fact the media and advertising companies are targeting them as potential buyers of their products. This has been done for cereal and toys for many decades but it's only very recently that they're extending their reach to clothing, electronics, food, etc. It's a sleazy practice trying to obtain "lifelong customers." They've even gone so far as to market directly to babies. Notice how the Pampers commercials are made in pastel cartoons? This isn't a coincidence. Unfortunately children and teens are especially vulnerable to this.
Kyla: Thank you for reading my speech! I am happy it's helping you, and good luck with learning English. It's a difficult language but as you said, it can be very pretty. :)
Finally, someone like me!
Honestly, I had no idea people feel the same way I do. I am constantly teased for being too 'posh' and using words that are too 'long'. You see, where I come from, being a teenager and using words longer than 'because' is practically illegal.
It's quite sad to think that we live in a time where teenagers are completely controlled by the media and what they see on television. I am a 16 year old girl, and I'm expected to be obsessed with boybands, hair, music, make up, like my friends and fellow classmates. Quite depressing, really,
Don't be depressed Sarah. Right now you look around and see nothing but a sea of idiots, I know, I've been there, but as you get older you will find others like yourself. They'll eventually be your sanity because age doesn't always make people more wise - in fact it usually only makes people like you more wise. Sad but true but stick in there! There are happier roads to go down in your life. :)
I am looking in to doing this speech for a forensics contest piece. Would you approve of this? Could I use "A Teenage Hypocrite's Speech on Teens" as a title for it? And what is your real name so I can include it in my intro and give credit to you for writing this masterpiece. Also, as I am a 14 year old male, would you be offended or 'pissed' if I made it LESS gender specific? Could I change some of the 'girl's to 'boy's or simply making it say 'teens'?
You are welcome to use my piece and make those small edits. I sent you my name via e-mail.
I agree with a lot of the stuff that is in here, but you might want to think about all those "dumb" kids you were addressing. It's awesome to speak your own mind and be an individualist, but for a lot of the speech I did feel as if you were looking down on others. Okay, yes, your way is definitely better! But, then, it isn't you who needs to be helped out-- you're good-- it is the people who have been sucked into conformity! And it's always important to make sure you're extending some kind of welcome to THEM, you know? Then a change might be made. Sorry if none of that made sense.
Jaime, I wrote this piece in my youth. I am now in my mid-twenties and sometimes I find it difficult to respond as I would have then. In any event I was the cliched gifted teenager sitting in a dark corner depressed and angry at the world. That was not my default emotion, it only became so when my social 'betters' teases me, tormented me, abandoned me, and used me. Did I feel like my intelligence made me better than them? Obviously. Did I look down at them? Yes and no. If I did I am sure it's in large part because of my negative experiences with them. Funny thing is I was always a happy, energetic, severely empathetic person but this almost always ends up with people taking advantage of my generosity, or willingness to help, or intelligence, or whatever else I happen to have that they need. I'm older now, and although I no longer have an us-vs-them mentality I still don't believe in rescuing people from themselves... all that does is stress me out and piss them off. People in the mainstream wish to stay there and that's fine too. So long as they don't question or revoke any of my rights I will not antagonize them. If they do try that then I will push back with all my might.
Nicole 4 years ago
This article helped me a lot. It is a very special article and i m using it for my public speaking audition.