A New Outlook

Last Friday night, Katelinn, Desmond and I went out to my aunt and uncle's cabin on Middle Thompson Lake to stay the night and hang out.

In the midst of our hangout we thought about driving to Kalispel to get Taco Bell and in the meantime we were channel surfing.  We came across a program called ''movie.''  I laughed and made a couple of wise cracks at the title.  But after watching a segment, I became hooked.  I was so drawn to the story.

It was a lifetime movie about a syphilis outbreak throughout high school students in a community.  It was honestly unbelievable.  The students (mostly 14) just thought of sex as ''something to do'' or ''a boost in popularity'' and ''everybody does it.''  Some students had over 20 sex partners. WTF!!  Whenever a student was tested for syphilis, they wouldn't get treated or just keep doing the same thing over and over again.  My jaw dropped several times during the movie.

14.....14....That is my little sisters age.   I didn't even know what a lot of this stuff was when I was that age.  The parents in the movie were blaming it on TV, music, magazines, and all  other media sources.  That's a part of it but another part could be stemmed from something in the family life, an internal struggle, or low self esteem.  It's sad really...

This is when I made up my mind to be the best mentor and role model for my sister.  After getting sick, my self-esteem and self-image plummeted.  All I cared about was how I looked or if my dress was hip and what people thought of me.  After watching this movie, I realized there is so much more to life than sex appeal... I kind of forgot about that until this movie became a reminder in what I strive for.  I need to better convey it to my sister.  She is going to be a Freshman in high school this year and this movie really freaked me out.  I realized that now is the time to be there for my sister, to teach her that appearance and being popular isn't going to matter after high school.

One part in particular made me furious.  One guy, about 16, was one of the "big spreaders " of the virus and was too "cool" to take responsibility.  His "prey" ended up being a naive, sweet 14 year old girl and ultimately guilt tripped her into things she wasn't comfortable with.  There are people like this in the world and it made me sick.  My sister was an awful lot like the girl in the movie, so it is now my job to prepare her for these kind of dudes.

A lot of the movie was most likely exaggerated but the underlying thing happens all the time in high school:  Doing ridiculous things just to be notice and also to climb the status ladder of popularity and likability.