“Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire?“
– Against Me!, I Was A Teenage Anarchist
The ultimate form of rebellion
Every now and then some hotheaded teenager messages me to say something like “F*ck college, I’m going to [insert stupid activity here] and show society whose boss.”
While it is flattering to know that kids are able to misinterpret my writings and cite me for their poor decisions, I usually end up giving them a lengthy lecture.
Being lazy, and a slow writer, I’ve decided to make my general argument public.
Below are several reasons I’m against tradition rebellion. However, if you want to skip over the fluff and get straight to the ultimate form of rebellion check out the very last section.
As you get older you stop caring
Do you know why your favorite actors, musicians, and bloggers all try to get you riled up over some controversy?
Because they profit off it.
There are a few things that young men should be aware of, but most catastrophes are manufactured. The end of the world is not going to happen during your lifetime, for the same reasons that it didn’t happen during your father or grandfather’s, and some annoying loudmouth you disagree with isn’t worth getting stressed over.
Obese feminist wants to steal your Bitcoins might make for some fun reading material, but you shouldn’t lose sleep over it. I get more worked up over my daily word puzzles than I do politics or social problems.
What’s fun today is pathetic tomorrow (and vice versa)
As a kid I was lucky enough to get all my craziness out early. I wasn’t exactly a cool guy, like a football player or something like that, but I did party hard and was that dude who everyone assumed would end up ruining his life and working at Home Depot forever.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
As everyone else started to let loose, I was getting away from that stuff. By the time I was 18 my energies were being focused towards other outlets. I discovered constructive activities to focus on and challenge myself with.
Partying and going out might seem like fun when you’re young, but they become kind of pathetic as you get older. A 21 year-old who goes bar hopping is a typical young person. A 45 year-old who does the same thing is an alcoholic.
Aside from a few funny stories there isn’t much that you’ll get from excessive partying.
You will end up doing normal people things
Do you know what I did today?
I went grocery shopping, cleaned my apartment, and read some boring legal information. And I enjoyed every minute of it.
Being responsible is actually pretty fun. Taking care of yourself and your possessions builds both discipline and a sense of pride.
I didn’t get an apartment on the coast for it to look like a pigsty. Vacuuming and doing the dishes is important.
I’ve seen people who refuse to grow up. They look like slobs and have zero sense of worth. Every dude I’ve ever met who acted like a child was a loser. Sure, they played video games all day and ate junk food, but they didn’t have anything going for them.
Hard work is the ultimate middle finger to society
99% of rebels end up calling it quits due to one thing, money.
There are plenty of old punks who ended up with bland office jobs, or hippies that had to pack it in and find work. They had to give up and spend the rest of their days in some soul crushing cubical.
Developing a strong work ethic so that you can run your own business or build a website is the ultimate form of rebellion.
While you have to put a lot of time and energy into creating something, it’s well worth it. Whatever you make is yours at the end of the day, and you actually have something to show for your efforts. On top of this, you actually get to follow your dreams and do something you’re passionate about.
When everyone else is stuck at work you can be out seeing the world, or relaxing at home.
Destruction is a dead-end road. You aren’t getting anything of value from it. Instead try to build something new and better yourself. Out achieving everyone who ever made you mad or did you wrong is the only true form of revenge.