Jess Mallett – 6th November 2011
Wild Young Things
Have you ever had the feeling that someone has got you completely wrong? I’m not on about petty Americanised high school politics where someone thinks you’re an insensitive slut-whore because you’re good at PE. I’m on about a little old lady pointedly crossing the road when she spots you trotting towards her with headphones in. WHOA?! When did that happen? Maybe I’ve gotten a little bit taller, and filled out a tad since I discovered they sell bagels 24-hours a day in London. But I hope I don’t look like a complete thug. I say good morning to people at the bus stop, I ask the elderly neighbour if he wants anything from Tescos, and I made gingerbread men this afternoon. I feel thoroughly outraged I have been bracketed into the ‘yob’ label, just because it’s started going dark at 5 o’clock.
I went to see some fireworks last night with a family friend and some of her pals (all kind of batting around the middle-aged mark). I was informed by one of them that it’s very difficult not to put ‘young people’ into the same, greasy, ASBO ridden basket. Not quite his words, but that was the gist. He continued to grumble and warily eye all the groups of teens as the fireworks were set off to the heavy bass and beats of what he described as “young music by the Snoop Doggedy Dog fellow”.
Maybe I missed something? I can’t remember the last time I spent an evening on Brick Lane sniffing glue from an empty crisp packet with ma homeboiz…but then again I don’t listen to Snoop Doggedy. I suppose it’s fairly amusing when someone approaches you with caution just because you’re a young person, and then to watch them relax into a normal conversation once they’re convinced you’re not carrying a knife. They also stop asking stupid icebreaker questions like “So how many brothers and sisters do you have?” and “Are you having lots of fun in London?” when they discover you might have read a newspaper once or twice in your life. Everyone always talks about respecting your elders – but I think they should start having a little more respect for the younger generation.
It concerns me when I think I’m going to have to network with people who are older, and that I will have to try and impress them. I think it is so essential that we start building up some really good work so people start respecting us for our achievements, rather than judging us solely from outward appearance. SCA is a rare environment in which young people have been given the respect of their elders, without having to prove anything first. I am amazed by the trust that people have endowed us with – giving work to a student who doesn’t even have a portfolio, or giving us the chance to handle their business’ reputation. I feel ashamed when I turn out work that isn’t up to scratch, or if I feel resentful that work has built up and that I can’t do it. I’m going to try so hard to keep in mind that no other student is given the opportunities that we are at SCA and that I have to keep pushing myself.
