Perspective.
When Anton Ego goes to Gusteau’s restaurant at the end of Ratatouille, he orders something unusual. He orders their finest “perspective.”
During the course of the film, Ego becomes so disillusioned with his standards of cuisine that he only accepts a narrow sliver of food as “good” food.
He’s lost his perspective. He no longer knows what it means to cook, or what real food is.
It takes a childhood favorite of his to shake him out of his apathy and disillusionment. Only then does he realize that good food has been around him all along.
Teens have much the same problem.
A lack of perspective.
I mostly agree with Lindsay’s take on this answer. But I think that a lack of criticism is only one symptom of the problem.
There are teens that hold themselves up to impossible standards. These are some real thoughts teens I know have had.
- “OMG, if I don’t get into a top 50 college, I’m gonna kill myself”
- “I need to take 12 AP classes or I’m worthless.”
- “My friend got a 1490 on the SAT, if I don’t do as well as him, he’s gonna think I’m dumb.”
- “If I have too much free time, I’m not working hard enough. Fuck sleep.”
They’re not hyperbole.
But conversely, you have teens on the other side of the spectrum:
- “Who cares about school, I’ll become a professional football player.”
- “You know Bill Gates dropped out of college, I’ll just become an entrepreneur.”
- “I don’t need to study, I’ll just marry a sugar daddy.”
These aren’t hyperbole either, there are teens that actually think that.
It is changing.
I recently heard that my younger cousin is taking a “personality development” class over the summer. He’s an incoming freshman in college.
Like me, he was born into an environment that prioritizes academic success over anything else. So I was pleased.
A balanced perspective is what teens need.
They need to know that they should be trying really hard in high school, but not sacrificing their mental health in the process.
They need to know that it’s okay to fail, but not okay to refuse to move on from failure.
They need to know that they’re worth something, but that their employer will need proof of their skills.
They need perspective.
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