I Only Intended to Make the Front Page!
While reading the headlines, an interesting news story flashed across my computer screen: “Woman Accused of Robbing Bank and Bragging About It on YouTube.” I clicked on the link, and then followed the eccentric story of 19-year-old Hannah Sabata, who decided that simply robbing a bank at gunpoint and stealing a car right after wasn’t enough of a victory for her. To completely call her escapade a success, Sabata decided that she needed to post a video on YouTube that flaunted her stolen $6,000 and her newfound abilities as a thief. Needless to say, the video became circulated wide enough to reach the police headquarters, and they were able to easily link the video and the incident together, and Sabata faces a December 26th date with court.
After I read this, I was incredibly confused. Why would anyone lack that much foresight about their consequences? Why did she consciously decide to not only commit such a crime, but also let it be so publicly known? Why would she confess herself to the world, and allow her actions to so quickly face the harsh light of justice? Though still a teenager myself, I was incredibly confused, shocked, and quite disturbed that someone in my generation would be that mindless to link these two events. As the question of Why? Why? Why? kept spinning around in my mind, a moment of epiphany stuck my mind: this was the intention of Hannah Sabata. Her intention was not to go off free from these crimes, but be recognized and emblazoned as their perpetrator. Hanna Sabata intended to be known for her offense.
So, is this really the society we live in? Is this really the message that our generation of teenagers has learned, that the fulfillment of our intentions can only be achieved by showcasing our dangerous behavior to generate enough “likes”, “followers”, and simple “attention”? Our intention for attention – pushed to the extreme by easy access to billions of others across the globe – has led us to forget about our much higher intentions. Do we really want to continue to be the culture that is driven by fame, by fortune, that does things purely for the roaring response of the people, to reach some undefined level of success through “popularity”? Is that really the message we want to send out about humanity itself?
We can determine whether or not we will continue to have our intentions driven by our newly intensely cravings for attentions. We can choose to have different intentions – ones that are based on purpose, compassion, and understanding – that will have a far greater impact than the 15 minutes of fame that might, on culture’s whims, given you for completely changing the definition of Who You Are. By simply being aligned with higher intentions, you WILL gain far more attention that WILL make the world more aware and more conscious of its own miraculous journey. Instead of merely the front page of the Friday newspaper, you can find yourself with an entire book of your experiences to share with the world. With the very root of every thought, word, and deed stemming from sources of love, guidance, and joy, our own journey transforms itself from a burdened daily struggle into a magnificent adventure with wonder and awe around every corner. If this is the way we INTEND for life to be, then it CAN be that way.
Teens, we have the choice to make. Will we change or continue our current intentions? We will make this decision, and we must also make sure we share this decision. Whether it be right here in the Global Conversation community or even in your own community, share your intentions, and let others be transformed as well. Let yourself be known, and so you face no difficulties expressing your new intentions. The higher they are, the stronger they be.
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
