LivingInAbundance

This reminded me of yesterday. I had dropped off Lelia at the Salon to get her eyebrows waxed. When I picked her up, she was just aghast at this exchange she had witnessed in the lobby while waiting, and she said, "you know, I understand why adults say things about teenagers". Evidently there was a young girl about 13, who Lelia described as just about laying in her chair sulking and having a conversation with her mother where she was extremely rude. Lelia said her mother wasn't mean, but just asking questions and the girl was just so ugly and rude and sarcastic to her. Lelia said it made her sit up really stratight and she wanted to yell at the girl to stop slouching and sit up and stop being so rude. She was funny in telling it. . . and to her it seemed like entirely the girl's fault. But I told her, you know it's possible that this girl's situation is she has never been respected her entire life by the adults in her life, not her teachers, not her parents, not anyone. . . maybe. But to Lelia it was hard to imagine why anyone would ever act like that . . and she is a teenager. I think it helped her understand a little bit about why people make generalizations about them though.

But it just makes you think about socialization and what it all boils down to. I believe with all my heart that unschooled young people who are also rasied with true choice and respect just won't act like that in public. The socialization that goes on in school and oftentimes just with other young people is not what we want our kids around all day long. I struggle at times with my younger son, because at home sometimes he is so rude, or at least appears to be, but in reality he is working things out in his mind I think. This week I watched him so many times be the most polite person I have ever seen in public. . . it just amazed me because oftentimes at home he won't do that.

By the way if anyone is interested in hearing Lelia live, she will be on the radio tonight and you can listen to it live on the internet at www.xpn.org She will be on at 9:00 Eastern Time and will be interviewed and singing a couple of songs. Maybe she will talk about the teenagerthing ;) Also, she is playing in New York in Greenwich Village at The Bitter End on Tuesday if anyone lives in that area.
Promotion over for now!! ;)

Best,
Mary
www.leliasmusic.com


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