Friday, March 7, 2008
English Blog Post 1 (i.e. Mrs Nathan, please read this!!)
Article
Parents, beware the emo kids
Section: Home
By: SANDRA DAVIE
Publication: The Straits Times 19/03/2007
Page: H2
Source: Newslink (Use search terms: beware the emo; it is the first returned result)
Synopsis
Emo, or slang for emotional, is a current teenage trend of, well, being emotional. “Emoness” is a angst filled teen sub-culture characterized by activities ranging from expression of oneself through poems or in more serious cases, self-mutilation (the commonly-mention “slash wrist”) or even suicidal ideations. To most emo teens, this is just another form of self-expression. It is an outlet for them to relieve stress and perhaps, escape from their angst-fueled world. However, this has raised concerns among some that when teenagers take this fad to an extreme, they could end up hurting themselves. One good example would be wrist slashing. I quote “The Straits Times reported that a group of 12-year-olds in an all-girls primary school made a collective pact and slashed their arms with penknives.” Others included slashing one’s wrist out of curiosity, following the fad blindly as mentioned in the article. What is most worrying is that these teenagers hide their scars and parents do not know about it. This could result in teenagers seriously hurting themselves.
Personal Commentary
After a lengthy, dragged-out greeting, you take your seat as the teacher beings the lesson. Getting into a comfortable position to “inconspicuously” fall asleep, you let your mind drift off.
Or at least until you see the stack of papers the teacher pulls out.
Yes, those are the dreaded answer scripts to that ridiculously tough test you took a week ago. And in that second, everyone’s attention perks up. As names got called, many returned with looks of angst and dismay. Almost immediately, phrase like “Dang, I screwed up Q5!” “AH! I feel emo now!”
Emo. A word frequented by teens. In this face-paced, highly competitive society, it is inevitable that us students come under tremendous stress. Faced with endless assignments and oh-so-common Common Class Tests coupled with CCA commitments, it is rare that one doesn’t get high expectations of oneself, be it from parents or personally.
When we (a student as well as a human) fail, we feel upset and seek to express this emotion. Yet we fear judgment of being labeled or we just don’t want to express it. But in either case, most of us turn to being emo.
Being emotional isn’t all bad. It is still an outlet of expression. However, it is the consequences of that expression that is worrisome.
Suicidal ideations and “wrist-slashing” are commonly associated with “emoness”. As a person who has “emoed”, I can understand that feeling of denial and despair that comes with it. Desperately finishing a Geography essay at 2 am brings about “emoness”. (Not) Coping with simultaneously ongoing projects (e.g. Prefects' Investiture and Social Studies project) makes people emo. It is when that feeling overwhelms teens that they start hurting ourselves. It is illogical that it brings about relieve.
It is when things are taken too far that alarm bells go into overdrive. By “slashing wrist”, teens not only inflict serious hurt upon themselves but cause others to worry for them. From an outsider’s perspective, one might comment that we teens live in such as safe place. Most don’t have to worry about food or lodging.
However, I feel that being emo is not about worries but more of an attention-seeking plea. When we are in states of denial, what we need most is concern. By writing suicide notes and wrist-slashing, we merely want someone to notice us. A simple chat could lift one up quite a fair bit.
“Emoness” isn’t really something that we can control. More importantly is about coming to terms with it. A good way to stop “emoing” is to let go. If you really cannot do it, just do it to the best you can. After all, fretting over it would not change things. And if need be, talk to someone; a teacher, a friend or a parent. As an “emo kiah (hokkien for child)”, it truly helps. Failures are unavoidable truths of life. After all, no human is perfect.
And perhaps someday, “emoness” would be phased out, just like bubble tea.
498 words
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