Draft of Opinion Piece I'm writing for the Flannel...(I had to dumb it down a bit for high school readers...)

Is it just me or has the total over emphasis that today’s youth place on relationships resulted in a clear lack of independence, culminating in a weak generation of teenagers who lack any form of self-sufficiency or appreciation of the self? You merely have to browse a social networking site such as Bebo to see the thousands of youth that are totally obsessed with having another half and clearly see it as the be all and end all of life. Is it any wonder that most youth are weak and insecure when all their faith is placed in someone other than themselves?

Actually, come to think of it, is it any wonder that people are so fragile and dependent on each other when altruism as a value is so intensely forced on us since birth? When we come to expect others as being inherently good or that our own personal problems can be solved or dealt with through other people, is it really a surprise that so many end up dissatisfied and discontent?

Maybe if the same people who are desperately looking to solve their own insecurities through sentimentalism and other people, gave more thought to who they were and what their purpose in life was, they’d be less incomplete and to be frank, less boring. What does someone who shows no sign of being content in themselves and seems desperate to find comfort in others, seriously have to offer to anyone other than an already close friend, or family member?

Regardless of whether we will admit it or not, all life must compete and someone who makes no attempt to hide their own emotional vulnerability is instantly looked down upon with a certain amount of contempt, no matter how much some of us might try to deny it. Seeming weak or desperate certainly isn’t an attractive quality, to say the least.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that relationships are bad or that it is wrong to lean on a trusted person for companionship, (It’s definitely not something I’m immune from). I just think that justifying your existence through another person, which let’s face it a lot of people more or less try to do, can only end in misery as someone tries to fill an emptiness that can’t be filled by anyone other than themselves.

Perhaps I’m being too pessimistic but this is how I see things and I don’t see the problem changing any time soon. Maybe if the majority of people had any appreciation for themselves and took more interest other elements of life, they’d actually feel some degree of content in themselves, instead of constantly trying to look for a resolution in another person, especially at our age.