So I went to a local religious store to find my cousin a gift for her confirmation. And I saw this bookmark with an awesome poem on it. I bought one for her and one for myself. Here's the poem.
Teen Creed
~ * ~
Don't let your parents down,
They brought you up.
Be humble enough to obey,
You may give orders someday.
Choose companions with care,
You become what they are.
Guard your thoughts,
What you think, you are.
Choose only a date
Who would make a good mate.
Be master of your habits,
Or they will master you.
Don't be a show off when you drive,
Drive with safety and arrive.
Don't let the crowd pressure you,
Stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
So, in this post, I'm going to analyze this poem stanza by stanza.
Don't let your parents down,
They brought you up.
This can relate back to the first Rebel post. Teenagers think that they can behave "moody" and get let off the hook because everyone thinks that's how a teenager is. How is this letting your parents down? Don't you think that they're disappointed that you act like the world wants you to? Don't you think that they want you to be rebels? It disappoints them because they expect so much more of you. And they do because they know that you are capable of it.
Be humble enough to obey,
You may give orders someday.
It doesn't matter if you're disobeying your parents, teachers, grandparents, or boss, it's the same thing. Have you heard the saying, "Do to others what you would have them do to you"? It's the golden rule, no? Well, imagine that you are that parent, teacher, boss, don't you want your charges to obey you? Then follow the golden rule, but the obedience version.
Choose companions with care,
You become what they are.
Have you ever noticed that if you hang out with a certain friend, you start acting sorta like they do? It's true. That's why you should choose friends that have a good influence on your life. And be the reciprocal of that. Be a good influence on your friends. You never know who might need it.
Guard your thoughts,
What you think, you are.
This is just like hanging out with friends. If you listen to a certain genre of music, watch a certain type of movies, or read a certain category of books, your actions will look more like the ones those things promote. This is especially true for your eyes. My mom always tells me to "guard my eyes". There must be a certain reason for that if she tells me all the time.
Choose only a date,
Who would make a good mate.
Now, I have never been on a date, so this one is a little hard for me. But, this is what I can grasp. If there is this person that asks you out on a date, and you know that said person isn't the best, but you accept just 'cause, what do you think is going to happen? This is something that you should think when you go out on a date, "Don't do what you don't want your future spouse doing." Do you want your future spouse to get into a lot of bad things? Or do you want a spouse that fought for his chastity? A spouse that prepared himself to be an excellent husband or wife and parent? Think about it.
Be a master of your habits,
Or they will master you.
This is why forming good habits is so important. And it's also why breaking bad one is so hard. A habit once formed is hard to break. So let's form good habits. Habits that will help - and not hinder - your life.
Don't be a show off when you drive,
Drive with safety and arrive.
I can't drive. And the meaning of this one is fairly obvious. Don't be a reckless driver. Don't let your life go to waste because of one day that you failed to follow the rules of the road and it ended very badly.
Don't let the crowd pressure you,
Stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
This is the same principle as the one about friends. Don't be afraid to be that person that stands outside of the group because you won't fall to peer pressure and do something that you know you'll regret.
So, what did y'all think? Please let me know if you think of anything else to add. And please check back, I have more coming :D
