the happiness of youth

As I get older, I see more and more people getting angry towards younger people for being annoying or I see people complaining about kids. When I say kids, I am referring to anyone under the age of 18.

I see groups of kids hanging out, out front of a store, or I see kids playing catch in the street, or tons of kids hanging out in front of the movie theater etc.. So many people just look at them and complain and call cops or call security, or complain to a store owner, or yell at the kids them selves. Why all the anger and why all the yelling? These kids are doing no harm at all, they are just enjoying their lives.

It is like everyone forgot how life is when you are a kid.

I think back to all the times I was with my friends, we were never looking for trouble, we were not out to bother older people, we were just out to enjoy our lives. If I go to a movie theater, and I see tons of kids outside hanging out, I do not give them dirty looks, I don't complain about them to who ever I am with, I don't call security, I look at all of them and I just smile. I smile, because I remember how much fun that was and how happy it was. I also remember how little attention we paid to anyone else that wasn't one of us. When you are that age that you are hanging out in front of a movie theater, you are doing it because what else is there really to do. In your eyes( at age 15ish), you are thinking that this is the best time of your life.

When I go into a 7-11 or another store like that during the day, and there is a huge group of kids outside, I think the same thing. I remember after school hanging out in front of a store or a place like that. Again, when you are that age, a. what else is there to do b. what harm are you causing? When I see that, I look at them and that also makes me happy, because it reminds me how innocent and fun it used to be when we were younger.

This can be looked at on a grown-up level also. There are a group of people now who are fighting to make fines higher for drunk in public and step up arrests in the Federal Hill area. All of these people are way older, and I have to assume at some point in time they were doing the same thing. They are causing all of this because each weekend, there is a fight or an arrest etc.. The bottom line of that is, that is about 1% or less of the people. The other 99% of people are just out having fun, but older, bitter people just want to end all the fun.

The same thins is true for the people at the movie theater that call security or for store owners who put a sign on the door only allowing 2 students at a time in a store. Less then 1% of kids actually cause trouble, but people act like if there is a group of kids, that 100% of that group is out to cause trouble.

I just wish people would stop and think when they see younger people how they felt when they were that age, and how they acted when they were that age, and maybe that will change how they react. Under no circumstance do I want to go back to being a kid again, but I will never forget how happy I felt when I was that age and I will never look down on a group of kids just trying to enjoy life.