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P.K. is a common nickname for today's subjects; "preacher's kids". Its pretty easy to see how they got their abbreviation. See you take the first letter of preacher and the first letter of kid and put them together with a period in between and after. That's how we get the term P.K..
Now that a bit of the history is out of the way let me get down to the nitty gritty. I will forewarn you that I'm aware when religious subjects come up people tend to get defensive. With that said I still decided this was the topic for today and I'm willing to deal with comments. Keep in mind though, as with any of these things I write, I know that there are exceptions to everything.
You may think that with a walking talking Bible at home they would be a little more on the reserved side. In my experience with P.K.'s, its been quite the contrary. They have seemed to be like those catholic schoolgirls; that the moment the bell rings they pull their skirts and socks up and unbutton a few buttons on their shirts. (Not that I blame them, those skirts are uncomfortable, just ask Britney Spears)...
Children of preachers always seem to start their revolt around 13/14 years old, 8Th grade or H.S.. It usually starts with the music, they go from DC Talk and gospel to Bone Thugs, Eminem, and DMX (OK, maybe that was just me). They justify by saying that the song "Crossroads" talks about heaven and God, so the parents allow it. From the music they change their clothes, once they change their style they are accepted into a different group of friends. This new group of friends allows them to be more susceptible to the things of this world; sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. (Like I said before this is a clear over-generalization, but I have grown up in church while moving around, and witnessed this first hand more than once. Maybe its a rebellion toward their parents, maybe towards organized religion, or maybe they just realized who "they" really are. I don't know where the behavior change stems from, but I do know that it exists.
The ones who make it past the rebellion stage without turning into Ozzy Osbourne wannabes typically go on to follow in the fathers footsteps, starting the cycle over again. Now, I'm not making light of losing faith or rebellion against parents. I'm simply observing and reporting what Ive witnessed, its a blog (this is not TV where everything is true people). When beings are under constant scrutiny to believe things or to act a certain way it appears once given enough freedom they do the opposite just because. Its like if you never let your dog play outside, every time the door opens he is going to try and bolt. Not to compare P.K.'s to humans, but you get the point.
There is one thing to say though, in my experience with them they are almost always the life of the party. This may be because they grew up with no TV in their home. Thus forcing them to devise games where you drink the top shelf sacrament wine papa had hidden, followed by jumping off of furniture. I don't know why they called him papa, it just felt more forbidden that way. Nothing else to say.
Watch out for these crazy sons of P.K.'s (daughters too)
Peace be with you... And Also with you.
4 comments:
Ryan, you absolutely crack me up. First of all, I agree with you. Second of all, I was a P.K. (along with my brothers and sister). My brothers are both pot-heads and my sister and I drink a lot (we grew up with neither drinking nor smoking in our home). However, we didn't get "wild" until my dad had an affair and left the family (post-high school for all of us), so I'd say we were some of the exceptions. Now that we're all in our late 20s, we're starting to mellow out a bit. I think P.K.'s go crazy after a while because they are sick of living in a fishbowl, where EVERYTHING they do and say is scrutinized. Plus P.K's are supposed to be living, breathing examples of what a "good person" looks like. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "Don't forget Ashley, you have to be a good example for everyone else." To top it off, P.K.'s have to get used to losing friends all the time, since churches typically have revolving doors. Good times.
I agree as well. I'm not fond of the fishbowl attitude. People are people, and people are most definately not perfect. It's so much easier I've found, to be transparent and normal, than trying to be holier-than-thou and like you have it all together. No christian has it ALL together, not even pastors.
SEVENTH HEAVEN ANYONE?!?!?! omg.
I don't think P.K.s are any different from kids that grow up in the church. I think that other people look at them more closely than they would a family of church goers because they are more "in the spotlight". I can promise you that P.K.s and church going non-P.K.s have just as much ability to rebel as the other. I do think that when P.K.s leave for college is when their rebellion starts where as non-P.K.s tend to rebel sooner. This is from my experience as a P.K. and also as some one who moves a ridiculous amount of times.
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