Why Do I Love Rebelling?
Question: I’m a second semester senior in high school and I’m not living up to expectations. There’s really no good reason for it other than I love rebelling against everyone else’s expectations. I was a model student in elementary school until I was bullied. When the teachers and administration sided with the bullies, my mom home schooled me. I tried returning to public school but bad grades forced me to return to online school. I’m not doing well there either. The only place I do well is at work.
My mom’s great but my dad hasn’t been in my life at all. My dad doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. He never explained why. I have good friends and a nice life I know I’m putting at risk by refusing to do the things I should but rebelling feels good. Why do I enjoy going out of my way to do the opposite of what everyone wants me to do?
Answer: Expectations are tricky things. Think of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. When things don’t live up to our exact expectations (like the older bears’ beds, chairs and porridge didn’t work for Goldilocks), they just aren’t right and we respond accordingly. Was Goldilocks wrong to expect the world to accommodate her size? The answer is complicated.
While she was well within her rights to want things that were “just right” for her, Goldilocks also had to acknowledge that sometimes life doesn’t work…
