A Dream or a Nightmare: The Painful Reality of the Bad Boy
By Meaghan Szilagyi
Writing Apprentice
Twain Studios
Bad boys. They are the stereotypes that plague our dreams. But what defines a bad boy?
It seems that each individual has his or her own impression of what a bad boy is.
The most common characteristics of a “bad boy” are exactly what you would think. He lives off adrenaline and risk, he wears a leather jacket, he drives a motorcycle without a helmet, he wears dark shades, he sleeps around, he smokes, and he has tattoos.
Let’s give this bad boy a name. Seth. Perfect.
What about this bad boy image makes girls and guys so blind and infatuated? In my opinion, it depends on the person.
There’s the people pleaser. Let’s name this person Jordan. Jordan will do whatever it takes to gets into a person’s good graces. She gets so involved in what people need her to be that she spends almost no time taking care of herself.
People pleasers don’t have their own personalities. Their own opinions are stuffed and buried deep inside them because of their need to be what people need them to be. They get lost in a sea of perspectives that aren’t their own.
Stick up for yourself Jordan. Sing your own song, not the song everybody else wants you to sing.
Next there’s the rebel, Riley. Riley lives for risk. Hot guy on a motorcycle? Of course he’s going to want to be with him. All the drugs and drinking and other reckless behaviors are what attracted Riley to Seth in the first place.
Riley believes that he can handle anything, no matter what the cost and Seth wants to see just how far he’s willing to go.
Taylor is a scapegoat and always feels guilty about doing or not doing something. If she ends up with Seth, she’ll never leave him because if she did, she would feel like a terrible person. So when Seth asks Taylor for something like sex, she isn’t going to say no.
Does she want to try some LSD with him? Why not? Taylor thinks that saying no would ruin their relationship. Long story short, her life will be spent circling the drain because she just can’t say no.
Last but not least, there’s the enabler, Leslie. Leslie is a fixer. He sees Seth and thinks, He just needs a little bit of lovin’!
But in reality, the bad boy doesn’t want to be fixed. He just wants a new toy to flaunt. Leslie never hesitates to make excuses for Seth whether it be to his family, friends or even his boss.
What driving force has infected the human race to idolize bad boys like Seth? It could be about the chase, the bad-ass reputation, the need to put someone back together, or maybe there’s just something in the water.
Write to the Point! 