Submitted anonymously by an HHS student

Growing up is a hard thing for many kids to do, especially when  life they seem to get everything handed to them. Moving to a new town showed me that no matter where you go, or no matter who you know, there are always going to be ignorant people.

All my life I’d lived in Marshfield, moving from house to house within the town. I always wished we would move out of the town, just to get a fresh start and not really know anyone. Unlike most teenagers, not knowing anyone and switching schools didn’t scare me or make me nervous. I saw it as okay. These people wouldn’t know me, I wouldn’t know them. I thought people would just mind their business and not really worry about me and what I’m doing. Well, I thought wrong.

Moving to Hanover, I figured people don’t know me or anything about me so they can’t really judge me or say anything that will offend me. Once again, I was very wrong.

I didn’t know until my first day of school that basically everyone drives to school or has friends/family to give them rides. I don’t have my license, I didn’t have friends here, and my mother works a 9­-5 job. So when the bell rings at 2:16, everyone’s running out to get in their cars and I’m starting my walk home. At the beginning, no one really taunted me about walking, but as time went on there would be the occasional beep of the horn at me, and people waving a d laughing. No matter who you are or what people know about you, it won’t protect you from some people. If making fun of you is what will make those people cool, then that’s what they are going to do.

Ignorance is lacking knowledge or awareness in general, being uneducated or unsophisticated. Just about all teenagers nowadays are very ignorant, especially ones who are not exposed to real world everyday struggles. I matured at a very young age, if I do say so myself. I get complimented very often about how mature I am for my age or just get mistaken for being much older than I really am. It’s not very hard for me to speak in an adult manner to people who are just the same age as me. I’ve had experiences that most teenagers are not exposed to, especially in seeing my family struggle. Now I’m not saying no one else has gone through these struggles, or no one else is mature. But from what I’ve been exposed to, not many teenagers are really aware of the things they say and do. I expect teenagers between the ages 16­ -18 to have matured past the age of 15. They should be aware of the effects they will have on people and their surroundings from the things they say and do.

The taunting became more frequent and a little bit more humorless. The first time when someone actually got to me and bothered me happened just a couple weeks ago. I was walking down the street on my way home minding my own business. One car drives by, then a couple more, but then one car didn’t just drive by. They had to slow down, stick their head out the sunroof, and scream “Nice ******* car” while beeping the horn and laughing.

Now I was more than ready to punch these kids in the face, but then I realized that would be just as ignorant as them yelling at me, even though they really deserved it. The rest of my walk home, I could not stop thinking about why they thought that was okay. Or did they think I wouldn’t recognize them when I saw them in school the next day? But I did, and it was very hard for me to not stoop to their level and confront them about it. But I wasn’t going to do it, I was the bigger person and just continued to mind my own business. Even though those kids don’t even know my first name, this was all an act to make their buddies laugh. Never did they think of why I was walking or anything in the general idea. To them it was funny, and it gave them a good laugh. That is pure ignorance, not being aware of the situation and continuing to laugh at and ridicule people. These boys are 17­-18 years old, and still find it funny that someone is WALKING. It blows my mind that seeing someone walking home is this significant to their life. Me walking down the street has no impact on their life, made no change in the road they drive on, nothing at all. These boys will one day run into the wrong person, and really learn their lesson. That may not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen.

Even though you may have things other people don’t have, and that may make you think you’re better, you should always think before you speak. You never know what someone is going through, or the situation someone is in. You will never really grow up and mature unless you put yourself in someone else’s shoes.