The first thing I want to put out there is the teenage "Religion Hopping" phenomenon. I know that tons of kids my age didn't have the opportunity to be born into a certain religion, and there are lots more on top of that that don't like the religion they were born into. The fact that I was born into the LDS church and remain faithful and active is something I consider to be rather outside the norm [at least outside of Mormon culture, anyway].
So, the rest of the youth of America [I don't want to speak for the world] have three options:
- They reach a point in their lives where they know something is missing, at which point they seek religion to fill the void.
- They couldn't care less about religion, so they leave it alone entirely.
- In order to make a good showing for their friends, they do a little research, find out which religion sounds the "coolest", then tell people they practice that faith for a few months until the "Oooh"s and "Ahhh"s subside.
The third is what really bothers me. Maybe it's been this way for the past few generations, but I feel like Buddhism was the "cool" thing to be practicing when I was in high school. All the kids who wanted to sound mystical and in touch with a universe that they can't even begin to comprehend would don the loose term of "Buddhist" on their "Religious Views" on Facebook. Now, I think it would have been wrong to call people out on their charades; afterall, couldn't they really have experienced a religious affirmation? But, 9 times out of ten, the newest "emmisary of Buddha" would just tell people she became Buddhist so people would think she wasn't completely off her rocker for still obsessing over an ex-boyfriend who was no longer a part of her life. Another soul who had been "enlightened by Buddha" was the gay boy who felt that being Buddhist would add to his artistic image, as image is oh-so-important when you want to become a photographer.
Again, perhaps I'm judging too harshly. I just feel like religions shouldn't be like clubs that you go to for two weeks, then ditch so you can try something else out. Religion isn't about image or how popular you'll be for claiming affiliation. Religion is a deeply personal choice about how you choose to worship, not something to be flaunted like something new and shiny. This could be thrown back in my face in the form of the zealous missionary work that all members are encouraged to engage in, but it's not as if I've ever entered a room with my nose in the air and informing everyone that I'm Mormon, only to drop the facade a couple of weeks later. When it's something that's a part of you, there isn't this need to tell everyone, "LOOK! I'M BALANCED! I HAVE RELIGION NOW, AND IT'S A COOL ONE!"
Ack, let's talk about something else...how about how my bank account keeps locking me out?
I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on in that department. Honestly, I sit down to my computer, meticulously pecking out the password to my account so I don't type something wrong, then BAM! YOU'RE LOCKED OUT, LOSER! CALL TOWER AND SPEND THE NEXT 30 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE TRYING TO GET THIS SORTED OUT FOR THE SECOND DAY IN A ROW!
Honestly, I know I'm careful, so either I'm having minute digital epilepsy, causing me to hit the wrong keys so slightly that I don't even notice, or something is disturbingly and annoyingly wrong in the system.
Bonny, as my sister, I suggest you hop on that. Anyway, I'm off to a Saturday full of...something. We'll see.
Have a good one, kids :]
