The general musings of a 19 year old.

 Obtained a new knife today, a Kershaw  D.W.O in pink. There was the option for other colours, namely black, blue, orange and red, but none of those had the same appeal as a pink knife. The main problem with it is entirely not the fault of the knife, nor the manufacturer. It is, in fact, the problem with the current law, which prohibits any locking blade, or any non locking knife with an over 3 inch blade, unless there is good purpose for having the knife in ones possession. I'm sorry, but, am I really going to stab someone with a tiny little blade. If I wanted to, I could quite legally possess an 18 inch machete, and, as long as the knife remained in my household, the police would be quite powerless to do anything about it. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with any form of law enforcement, and was indeed planning upon joining the military police, until my illness struck- now a lifelong mark against my name, making me unable to serve my country in any form of uniformed service. My 'beef' is with the law, and those too weak to stand up and fight for what, in any other 'normal' society, would be a right taken as read. None of our currently elected 'representatives of the constituents' have the decency to stand up and say, 'yes, some disaffected members of society are using knifes to hurt and kill each other, but, should this really impact the entire population of one country?' None, because, they know, as soon as they open that particular can o' worms, they will, more often than not, be called upon to abandon their seat. 

  As you may have noted, from the above preamble, is that, I am quite unlike the average teenager. However, what is the 'average' teenager/young adult? 100 years ago, before the 'invention' of the teenager, most young men, having had a decent education, would either have settled down into a, more often than not, secure job, or left, to seek his fortunes in the colonies. Oh how I wish I had been born in that era. Admittedly, I would not have had the same experiences, and probably not have been born in another country, though I don't know, as the empire would have been willing for keen adventurers to take to the far flung corners of the globe. I know not many of the things the empire did were for the good of the colony, but there were enough for them to help turn the British empire into one of the largest the world had ever seen. 

 Anyway, back to the 'average' teenager. I freely admit I know very little about Football, or 'Soccer', as my cousins from the US insist upon calling it. I am not that up to date with 'current' music, and why do people automatically assume I listen to classical music, though some is rather good. I am not particularly adept at talking to members of the female sex, talking to them about subjects often quite far from their hearts, namely, rifles, various methods of self defense (most of them proactive), and general 'manly' things. I didn't know there were that many forms of perfume, and cologne? What is this? No, I don't follow fashion, I prefer clothes which fit me, are functional, and look 'nice'. My mind has still not adjusted to no longer wearing a suit every weekday, though I still have a suit waiting in the wardrobe, just in case. I blame the combination of a membership of the scouting network (the preparedness), a membership of the army cadet corp (the general militaristic attitude), and a grammar school education (for the ability to spell, helped by auto correct). Also, the ability to have respect for other people, regardless upon how you feel about them. If a person were to enter my room, I would stand and greet them, instead of continuing to type, turning round to greet them with a 'sup'. 

 I am not a 'celeb' follower, nor do I pay much attention to commercial television, although the new 'Sherlock' is rather spectacular. To be honest, I don't care what other people think about me, other than those who's opinion I hold in worthy regard. I don't know how to cook in a microwave, though I do know how to set up a camp properly, and cook over an open fire, including lighting it, which seems beyond a large number of my contemporaries. I do know how to shoot, admittedly with a rifle rather than a shotgun, and I do know how to dress a rabbit. I don't drive along with my music deafening everyone around, namely because I like to listen to the engine, and realise soon if something 'just isn't right'.