The, "apethetic," Generation

      How many of you know what the, "Y," generation is? Some of you may, some may not. For those of you who don't, the ,"Y," generation is the group of people who were born between 1970, and the early 2000's. In other words, people who are 41 years of age or below. This means that the majority of you reading this are part of my generation. As a fifteen year old high school student, I here how lazy my generation is. We sit on the computer all day long, don't get outside enough,spend too much time on our cell phones, have no respect for our elders, talk too much, sleep too much, (then we stay up too late and don't sleep enough) eat too much junk food, watch too much T.V, play too many video games, slouch like bums, get too hyper, talk back when we're not supposed to, spend too much time in our rooms, etc. I could keep going! There seems to be no way to please our parents demands for us and we are constantly judged by society. We are told that our peers are growing up with no morals and that our future as American citizens is grim. So now we have to grow up, not only with the hardships of being a teenager, but also with our parents, teachers, leaders, we have to grow up with our role models telling us that we will become nothing. That's pretty tough if you ask me.
   I don't think that the, "Adults," realize that if they're right, that we are lazy, they are the ones to blame. They are the people who are supposed to be raising us. Teaching us values and hard work and the difference between right and wrong. And yet here we are, getting looked down upon by the generation full of gods. Apparently they are perfect and when they see what we are becoming, we disgust them. 
   We have been dubbed as the apathetic generation. A generation that takes no initiative in our work, and no pride in what we do. So it looks like they take pride in how well they can stereotype. My generation is full of people who care about what they do and they take pride in every single thing that they do. They put everything that they have into the work they do and nothing less. So do not judge the people that surround me. They.. we are counting you to lead us in the right direction. 
   We are the future. There is no denying that. We will someday become what makes this country great. We will lead you, we will lead ourselves, and we will lead those who will someday do the same for us. So by telling us that we will make nothing of ourselves, you are only hurting your own future. 
   So keep telling us that we are a lost generation. We are not listening. Our generation is too busy striving for excellence to listen to the discouraging noises you make. So either you help us on our way to the future, or we will gladly do it on our own.


Ryan Pastircak   

Winter Photography

Our Changing World

   By now I think it is safe to say that we have all noticed the rapid changes that our world is experiencing. Technology is becoming a part of everyday life. From accessing the internet from our iPhone or BlackBerry, to posting blogs on Blogger.com, we are always surrounded with technology. Even now I am writing this on my Macintosh while listening to Chris Webby from iTunes, printing pictures from my wireless Canon Printer, and texting people from all over the state of Ohio with a simple touch of the,"send," button. All of this is done from my couch. The developing innovations are becoming increasingly popular amongst all sorts of people, young and old. Someone could be reading this in India and forward it to another person in Guatemala who recommends it to one of their friends in Nevada. (Not that it is even that popular, I mean as I write this I have no followers) But the point is that in the present day, we become adapt to these privileges. Maybe even take them for granted. (?)
     My concern is that we are losing sight of what is important in life. When I say that, what I mean is that our lives are no longer physical at all. Almost everything we do is virtual. From paying the bills to filling out job applications, our keyboards control the lives we so apathetically live. It may seem practical and convenient to read the news online instead of in the news paper. But we are losing that physical aspect. We can read the front page headline or jump straight to the sports section if you like, but you are taking out that small chance of an article catching your eye that could turn out to be something that you will think about for the rest of your day. By relying on the internet for everything, we are missing out on so many potential experiences.
   That is what makes me afraid of my own future. For the past few years I have figured out that I want to be a photojournalist. I enjoy writing. It helps me express myself in the best way possible. I love the way I can do anything with it that there is no limit to what you write about. Photography is like my mistress. My second love in life. There is always something to take a picture of no matter where you are. you just have to have the right eye for it. I have figured out that these two talents seem to fit together very well. I just have one problem. This world is changing faster than I can change my own shirt.
    I am the type of person who is very hands on. Sitting behind a computer isn't something that I find very exciting. I don't consider that taking online inventory or calculating this months quota to be a heart-pounding adventure. But from the outlook of things, I am going to have to teach myself to become friends with a computer room. The local Newspaper is on the verge of shutting down and people are running businesses from their home because the consumer is too lazy to get off his ass and go get what he needs.
   You may think that I sound hippo critical right now. I'm complaining about how the internet is ruining my future career, and yet here I am on blogger.com posting a blog to the, "Enemy." But let me ask you this. Would you have been able to read what I have to say if I did this anywhere else but on the World Wide Web? 

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Ryan Pastircak