It's Just So......Overrated

Styles differ, it's true. People are unique, so they cannot be expected to agree on everything. Yet there are some trends which can be counted as pretty far-stretching, pretty universal. These opinions and tastes form a sort of cultural majority, defining what it is the culture will be remembered as liking and disliking.

Let's put it this way: I'm a cultural minority. With many popular fads, I'm really at a loss. I find myself wondering, "Ok, so this has its good sides. But why is everyone making such a big deal out of it?" Here's a far from definitive list of things I think are overrated in our culture.

1. Country Music. (One or two songs are cute, but beyond that...)

2. Volunteer Hours. (They really AREN'T as important for your college application as people make it sound, and they don't "teach you leadership skills")

3. Certain Movies (The Matrix, Braveheart, and The Phantom of the Opera among them). 

4. Finding a clique, though it doesn't always go by that name. I mean that "special group of people" everyone is supposed to need so very badly. Though such groups do form, it's the "finding" of them which I think so overrated.
5. Movie Ratings. (Honestly, do they really tell us much?)
6. Computer skills. (Once again, it's useful to know how to use a computer, but people emphasize it WAY too much.)
7. Prom. (Youths should learn how to dance, but prom is now taken way too seriously.)
8. Driving and cars. (I have a neighbor who is this short of putting a tarp around his car every night to ensure its safety. He washes it almost everyday. What can I do but shake my head?)
9. Youth group. (I like John Stonestreet's term for youth groups. He says, "they're Christian junkies, moving from emotional high to emotional high")
10. Self-esteem. (Just pause and look at that word for a minute. Are the words "pride", "arrogance", and "conceit" ringing a bell?)