Navigating Looks

As an adult, and professional I have had to come to terms with the fact that I must learn how to use technology and various forms of social media even though I find them complicated and intimidating. I have also had to educate myself on the dangers that exist in these virtual worlds and be an active participant in conversations to help promote healthy communication.

So, the other day I observed a large group of “preteens” interact with one another. Each one had a cell phone in their back pocket or held it tightly in their hand. The girls would approach one another and then join other groups. Then there were some who stood among one group but looked longingly at other groups, and lastly there were some who sat alone, while others secretly watched them, but never approached them.

As I watched as an outsider looking in, I suddenly remembered it all. I thought about how I wished when I was this age, I would have known my interactions could be telling of who I was going to be later in life. Fortunately, I lacked a cell phone, but it was still an awful time. I had been looked at from afar, yet what I did not know then was that there was no look that would ever make me feel as bad as losing a friend.

I had let looks from girls who seemed appealing at the time take me from my only friend. I could not navigate the social demands the world had put on me, and so for years I walked blindly not knowing what I truly wanted out of anything really. And sadly, once I figured out what truly mattered, I was years older, with a cell phone in my back pocket.

So as I stood up to walk away I wished I could tell these girls to stay where they are, because if they let looks dictate where they go they will end up years later with cell phones in their back pockets just so they can reconnect to people they should had

never let go of in the first place.