Cool is just how far we have to fall

[I'm Not Alright, Sanctus Real]

I love that line.

Cool is just how far we have to fall.

Really think about it. Let it sink in.

Cool is just how far we have to fall.

Think about how much people are willing to give to be cool. They puff and prop themselves up, trying to attain the allusive "cool" factor. What people really want is to be loved, and wanted. They think being cool will ensure them of feeling needed and worthwhile.

One of my students has a story that would bring tears to your eyes. Abandoned by her mother, she was left to her father's care. One day he decided he didn't want her or her brothers anymore so he called the police to take them away. Social services came to get the kids, and she hid behind the shed sobbing and hoping they'd leave and let her stay. Once found, she begged and pleaded with her "father" to not get rid of her. He did not acquiesce to her request.

She was put into foster care. A boy she "talks with" finally made her feel loved and wanted, so she gave him what he loved and wanted. She became pregnant, and upon telling her foster mother was told that she had a choice to make. Then she was told she'd be taken to get an abortion on Friday, or else be kicked out of the house. The boy she'd been talking to (and clearly a lot more) told her if she got an abortion they would be over. Her own emotions ebbed and flowed into a raging torrent pulling her back and forth.

It became clear that she had no actual choice in the matter when the school "guidance" counselor preached abortion at her for a half hour. Then her foster mother showed up and took her to the abortion clinic yesterday. Tuesday. No warning, no time to deal with issues at hand, or sort out her own feelings. Just pulled her out of school to scrape the life out of her uterus. Now she will have to hope the ghosts won't haunt her for the rest of her life.

She's 15. A freshman in in high school. Fifteen.

Cool is just how far we have to fall.

Cool is just how far we have to fall.