Cultural norms, expectations, expressions, and influences are constantly changing. No matter
your age, you are influenced by culture and can influence culture. As you get older, however,
your cultural norms, expectations, expressions, and influences shift. It becomes harder and
harder to adapt to the ebb and flow of the new aspects of culture with the incoming generation.
However, it is our job to adapt to connect with the youth. This means, we must challenge
ourselves to take the plunge and explore the best strategies to connect ourselves to the new
norms to foster meaningful relationships with the new generation. In this case, specifically, we
will be diving into the culture of the young art scene of Santa Fe. Santa Fe’s youth culture has a
plethora of influences, both good and bad. Unfortunately, like many other parts of the world,
the youth in Santa Fe have been influenced by gangs, drugs, and violence which have become a
cultural norm. The people of Santa Fe are searching for solutions. A local artist and painter of
the portrait in the article, Rose B Simpson, has this to say: “Young people are so lost and so
unseen and so uncared for and so unnourished and so unnurtured that they turn to drugs and
alcohol, domestic violence.” However, some of the youth have found an alternative. Rather than
further solidifying these cultural norms, they found better ways to express themselves and
connect with each other. They accomplished this through creative expression via graffiti. They
are able to express their feelings of neglect and being ignored through their art. One of the
expectations of the culture in Santa Fe, as is the same for many others, and one I have
personally experienced is a need to find a group to affiliate yourself with. This expectation
pushes the youth of Santa Fe towards gangs, drugs, and violence. While graffiti is illegal, I argue
it is a much more favorable alternative to the ladder. Rose seems to agree with my opinion and
advocates for a legal graffiti wall so the youth can express themselves and avoid crime entirely.
She was looking to accomplish this through Cooperation with her local art committees as well as
local businesses. She hopes to foster an environment where the local community, youth, and
adults alike, can admire the talents and creativity of young local artists. This will also create a
way to garner respect and admiration from their peers through a healthy outlet. This will
prevent attempting to gain respect from your peers in ways like rising the ranks of a gang
through increasingly heinous acts of crime. While I am sure there are numerous amounts of
slang terms and expressions utilized by the youth of Santa Fe this article didn’t focus on this as
much. However, I do think that you could consider terms such as “tribe” in regard to their close-
knit groups rather than gangs which have a more violent connotation. As well as referring to the
tempting yet likely unwise choice of groups to associate yourself with as the “underground
youth cultures.”
Work with them to better their community and use their ideas, so they feel heard
I think as adults it can be difficult to predict what younger generations are interested in an
everchanging culture. There are so many variables that affect what is popular and how long
some thing stays in style. So in myopinion the best way to learn about what interests the youth
is by asking them. This provides A great amount of insight about what will work for making
connections with the young community. Not only does it allow for the opportunity to make
connections but it also provides away for the often dismissed use to have their voices heard.
Branching off of this, based off of their input you can create events specifically for creating
those significant connections. It could be anything from creative outlets like art projects to
outdoor activities like kickball. Once again it’s really based off of the input you receive. Once you
foster these connections into meaningful relationships, you can use that as an opportunity to
spread the gospel. The more connections and relationships you make the more interest you will
have in the local church. Once you have a solid foundation there they will start spreading the
word to their friends. Eventually that will compound to a solid youth group or youth interest in
the local
church. From there you can use that as an opportunity to form community outreach
days through the youth group. Once again it’s important to get the suggestions from the
community so the youth know that they have a voice and are heard. Not only with this
show that you have the best interest for the community mind But it will also show that
Your age does not matter you can still have an impact on the others around you.
I think another way to have a positive impact on The local community and make
meaningful connections with the youth Is to provide positive creative outlets such as
legal graffiti walls. However, you do not have to stop there. Hosting local community art
shows so the youth have a way to display their talents and feel seen would be huge.
While that may work for some Others may still want to express their talents in a more
abstract setting so assisting a local community and legal graffiti walls to show you are in
it with them will build trust and meaningful collections.
As adults, it can be difficult to predict what younger generations are interested in an ever-
changing culture. There are so many variables that affect what is popular and how long
something stays in style. So, I think the best way to learn about what interests the youth is by
asking them. This provides excellent insight into what will work for connecting with the
young community. Not only does it allow for the opportunity to make connections, but it
also provides a way for the often dismissed use to have their voices heard.
Branching off of this, based on their input, you can create events specifically for
creating those significant connections. It could be anything from creative outlets like art
projects to outdoor activities like kickball. Once again, it’s based on the input
you receive. Once you foster these connections into meaningful relationships, you can
use that as an opportunity to spread the gospel. The more connections and
relationships you make, the more interest you will have in the local church. Once you
have a solid foundation, they will start spreading the word to their friends.
Eventually, that will compound into a solid youth group or youth interest in the local
church. You can use that as an opportunity to form community outreach
days through the youth group. Once again, it’s essential to get suggestions from the
community, so the youth know they have a voice and are heard. Not only does this
show that you have the best interest of the community, but it will also show that
Your age does not matter; You can still impact the others around you.
I think another way to positively impact the local community and make
meaningful connections with the youth Is to provide positive, creative outlets such as
legal graffiti walls. However, you do not have to stop there. Hosting local community art
shows, so the youth have a way to display their talents and feel seen would be huge.
While that may work for some, Others may still want to express their talents in a more
abstract setting, so assisting a local community and legal graffiti walls to show you are in
it with them will build trust and meaningful collections.
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