Within the last few years, an influx of teenage boys with ice-cream-scooped shaped hair and a severe lack of emotion took social media and American high schools by storm. The phenomenon dubbed “nonchalance” has left teens with their heads tilted slightly back in an air of negligence, all while sporting hoodies and skinny sweatpants tucked into their socks. Unfortunately, the uptick in nonchalance has trickled down to the student body, taking a toll on the vibrancy of student life here at the school — and not just because of the “super cool” tucked-in sweatpants.
Let’s take Spirit Week, for example. School spirit is meant to be an exciting method of uniting students in costume, color or clothing. It appears as though we are simply too cool to participate in school spirit, however, given that hardly anyone dressed up this year. Even some senior prefects (who chose the themes) opted-out of Spirit Week.
The same victims of the nonchalance craze have somehow mastered the strange marriage between having a massive ego and acting like they don’t care. It’s infuriating.
These kids ignore their friends in the hallways because they can’t be caught in the act of smiling (a visible display of emotion … oh no!). Class discussions are a nightmare, too; openly demonstrating a passion for the material at hand could be detrimental to their reputations. More notably, these kids adopt the mindset that they are celebrities — that everybody wishes they were just as cool — with their monotone voices and neglect of quality friendship.
News flash: You’re actually not that cool. Believe it or not, people tend to enjoy the presence of someone with a genuine personality, someone with whom they can openly laugh and enjoy life, no matter the circumstances.
So, let’s put an end to the nonchalance. Start basking in the thrill of school spirit while getting impassioned in our class discussions. Let’s smile at our friends in the hallways and feel comfortable enough to tell them when we’re having a rough day. Let’s start living with some passion and flair!
Most importantly, PLEASE untuck your sweatpants from your socks. Like seriously, you look crazy.
