High schoolers with beards, at least in any grade before twelfth often look very strange. It’s quite a spectacle to see. Such young people with full manes don’t get the reaction they’re looking for, at least not from many. Some students can almost pull it off, don’t be fooled. Though mostly their youth coupled with a full beard gives off a bearded baby Jesus kind of look. Many can’t make it look normal at all, like some tragic accident left half of their face without the ability to grow any kind of shadow. In any case, oftentimes these people look like they’re wearing a Comic-Con costume to school. It isn’t their fault, and if they want to be beard guys in life that’s fine, but if you can’t do it at this point maybe you should just wait a year or two to sport the rugged look. The main thing is simply that such young people usually can’t make a mature feature look normal.

What makes them look so weird is just as simple as that, it just isn’t right for most people, and the look itself can spook people out. I ran into a kid in an elevator once, on a trip in Atlantic City. This kid clearly was against taking the hair off his face, and that’s too bad, because he was just creepy looking. I’m sure he was a nice guy but he looked like nothing less than someone who would follow you home at night, with several hairs sticking straight out of his face, all over. He was one who at his age just could not pull it off. And that’s what needs to be understood, beards are awesome. Just not on such young people.

There’s only so much that can be said about how young people look with beards. But that itself could be a problem… not much is being said outright. I’ve heard time and time again “beards are gross” and even “well at least on high schoolers they are”. Yet, if it really bothered people, you’d see a lot less of them wouldn’t you think? If anyone who had an issue with teen beards actually said anything, then its likely there’d be no beards, just so said beard growers would be “culturally accepted”. Clearly, it bothers few people. And really, this isn’t surprising in the least.

The way others decide to look has little effect on me, and little effect on others too. When someone wears something I wouldn’t particularly like wearing, or even something that isn’t generally “in” or maybe even if it looks just plain weird, it’s rude to bring it up really. But, when those same people who dress strangely start things about their style on their own, something like “What I’m wearing is who I am and at least I’m not fake like all the rest”, things get hazy. It’s just as rude to accuse someone of being fake when they may not be.

At the end of the day, a beard is someone’s personal choice at any age. And unless someone points it out or if the person has some common sense, a person’s preference won’t change on the matter. I guess everyone who has an issue with it will just have to get over it.