How to be a hippie

inmaricopa.com will from time to time be showcasing Maricopa students and their writings. Jennifer Stefanow, who teaches at Desert Wind Middle School (see related story), is having students contribute to a literary magazine called “Tiger Teenz.” Ashleigh Weaver’s essay is one of the submissions to that magazine.

Hey man, do you want to be a hippie? Well, here are a few easy steps. I will teach you to be mellow, to go with the flow, stop your anger, save the world (by recycling) and become fascinated by lava lamps. I am just kidding about the last one. Well, here I go!

First of all, I know what you’re thinking. Hippies are homeless, come from the Seventies, and take dirt baths. Well, you are going to be a modern hippie! You will be mellow, help the environment and keep the peace. You will not bathe in dirt! Here is your first step into hippiedom. Pretend someone calls you a name. What do you do? Take revenge, no! You are a hippie, be mellow. Find something about them that isn’t exactly their best feature. If you can’t do that, well go and take a dirt bath! For you hippie people, let’s move on.

Do you like the environment? If you don’t, I will teach you to love it. Close your eyes and think of a beautiful place. Now think of bulldozers coming and destroying it, ripping it apart! Not cool man, not cool! We’ve got to stop it! Recycle, turn off the lights, protest oil companies, and take the bus. Remember, one bus is better than twenty cars. There is one step left, move on!

Finally, I am almost done! Say your best friends are in a fight. What do you do? You are a hippie! Do what you were born to do. Keep the peace, man! Tell them that they should stop fighting. They are friends, and they should talk it out. If they do not listen, then they are not really your friends, or each other’s. Are you following? If you are, you are a hippie. If you are not, well, you failed. I have to go take a dirt bath.

Arizona native Ashleigh Weaver is a sixth grader at Desert Wind Middle School who moved to Maricopa at the beginning of last year. Her favorite subject is language arts; she loves writing fiction and reading. Her favorite sports are swimming and basketball.

Photo by Michael K. Rich