Our Hypocritical World

It always struck me as strange. As I sat and listened to my Sociology teacher explain that he had to go and have his lungs examined at the hospital, therefore cutting the lesson short, I wondered why he didn't stop smoking. There was no doubt that ten minutes of the half an hour he'd granted us free were going to be spent puffing on another cigarette.

My whole life up to this point had had strict rules put in place. I felt it had been necessary to be able to live my life to the full; don't smoke. Don't take drugs. Don't sleep around, settle down with someone and have a family once you're grown. Make something of your life. All these rules had been influenced by many key people in my life: Parents, other family members and teachers.

...so what made adults so different? "Brush your teeth and go to bed early. You'll need your rest." When often they were up until two in the morning and too tired to bother with anything other than getting changed and going to bed.

The news was something else that conflicted with my thoughts. So many stories on violent young people who were a threat to society. I'm young but heaven knows I'm only trying to be a good person.

"You'll understand when you're older."