In today’s world, one false step causes your entire world to crumble. Or so it seems.

Rebellion. Defined by Merriam-Webster as a refusal to obey rules or accept normal standards. Rebellion. A thing that is almost non-existent in today’s teen generation.With parents and grandparents talking about college at Thanksgiving, and hours upon hours of ACT prep, many of today’s teens feel utterly surrounded by pressure. Developing independence in high school is apparently out of the question. Rather, much of the teen population sacrifices the social hour to work towards college, a menacing entity that looms in the distance.

It’s not just the pressure, though. It’s also the risk that comes with risk-taking. In an article that asks “Where is America’s Real Youth Rebellion,” Esquire writer Stephen Marche describes how “the deviators are punished more savagely” in today’s world. The “thin blue line” that exists between rebellion and obedience has become a “thick blue chasm.” “To miss one hurdle is to take yourself out of the race entirely.” If students can recall, a certain infamous skiing trip took place three years ago. For their actions on this trip, a number of students were subject to severe consequences. Were they taken out of the race entirely? Or is one mark meaningless?

The real question remains, though, is teen rebellion going to one day vanish entirely? Certainly there are students from the Twin Cities who participated in the protests on 35W, and there are those across the nation who participated in Occupy Wall Street, but it appears that most students aren’t willing to branch out on their own if means a potential mark on their track record. What will become of society if today’s teens don’t rebel? Can we really break out if we’re always intent on staying one step ahead of the pack?