Deadly Rebellion

Nobody's said being a teenager is easy. Being an adult isn't going to get easier, though, I'm certain, but all the melodramatic fun is always found in the so-called adolescence phase.

"It's tough being in a situation when people treat you like a child and expect you to act like an adult."

I'm clearly not an expert at this topic, and it's true that this is an uncommon ground to cover since I am....well...a teenager myself. And please don't assume that I have adopted a"holier-than-thou" attitude for even attempting to comment on such a sensitive issue. This is only my two-cent! :)

I turned on my TV yesterday and I was flashed with a very astonishing news: a famous boy involved in a car accident. Now, what's so surprising about that? What surprising is that the young man has yet to reach his fifteenth birthday and he was reported to be traveling inter-city in a great speed. You can see the full story here: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/09/09/ahmad-dhani-s-son-pile-killing-six.html

I don't really know about you, since cultures are so radically different in each country. However, I can testify that what he'd done is a very bad thing. Firstly, he was not supposed to drive even in the tamest streets, less likely in a high-way zone like the toll roads. Secondly, it just struck me speechless that he was able to drive between big cities like Jakarta and Bogor undetected. There is an unspoken implication that he has done it numerous times, especially if he dared to bring his girlfriend and friend abroad.

As a teenager myself, I can't blame him. He's just experiencing a moment of "Bad Luck Brian" (ref: 9gag) and fits exactly into the proverbial Indonesian phrase of "falling down and the ladder falls on you". Right now, the police are in turmoil on who to blame. Is it the father? Or the son?

I tried to put myself in his shoes. Let's see. According to reports, he was defying his father's wishes to attend a famous singer's wedding. Instead, he chose to be AWOL. So, if I were famous and had a lot of money, would I be tempted to submit to the desire to be "a little wild"? From what I have seen so far, the answer would be yes.

Rebellion seems to be an unavoidable phase. It is a perquisite in the manual book for teenagers all over the world. What about me? Well, I'd like to think myself as a neat stay-at-home kinda gal who sometimes doesn't even have the nerve to stare down from the second floor of the building (Hehe, an acrophobia here). According to the people I've met, it would be shocking to defy a word from my parents. But I did. I have.

I'm soooo not getting into the details of my "rebellion" since it is off-topic, but what I'm trying to say (or write) here is that no one blames the kid more than himself. Of course, after hearing the news I was a bit miffed with the father who had provided all the facilities to make the rebellion much grander than it should be. However, I think that there is no 13-year-old who would like to live the reminder of their lives with dead victims on their shoulders, unless, of course, for the cases of mental illness.

I really sympathized with what he's going through, and especially for all the victims concerned. Rather than throwing the blame around it is better to take a moment of reflection for the mistakes which were unfortunately impossible to be undone. In my opinion, rebellion is okay, as long as it doesn't cross the line. Sometimes teenagers do have to experience making mistakes to grow up becoming responsible adults.

Nevertheless, lives are lost and no amount of money could bring them back. It is indeed tragic, and the only good thing that could be learned from all of this is that teenagers and parents can see the consequences of a rebellion, so that nobody else will have to go through what they are going through.