That Fleeting Stupidity: Remembering the Horror and the Magic of Adolescence
The author reflects on the chaos and charm of adolescence while observing teenagers at the beach. They express a sense of nostalgia for their own missed teenage years and comment on the differences in youth culture today. Despite the antics of the young people around them, the author finds a certain magic in their fleeting stupidity.
- ▪The author describes the beach as filled with teenagers and their chaotic interactions.
- ▪They reminisce about their own adolescence, which they feel they skipped over.
- ▪The author contrasts today's youth culture with their own experiences, noting the differences in behavior and appearance.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
I’ve come to write on the beach. I suppose exams are over, and this place feels like an anthill of teenagers. There must be some medicine that cures adolescence. I mean, something other than baseball bats. I’m typing these lines between two cliques of young people. To my right, girls. To my left, boys. They all look like they’ve fallen out of a TikTok dance. To the north, two friends are tearing a third one apart while she’s gone to get an ice cream. To the south, two idiots are trying to hit me with a beach ball, and they succeed. On the third hit, the iPad flies out of my hands, arcs through the air, gives a seagull a heart attack — it flees shouting “Martians!” — and finally lands in the sand. I look at them. I pick it up. I wipe the sand off the screen with sand-covered hands.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.
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