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Extension 2 English Reflection Statement ‘Je ne Comprends Pas’ “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy”1 1 Huxley 2006, p.240 9 My examination of ‘Resilience’ was ignited by the suicides of four school acquaintances, the recurring hospitalisation of an anorexic friend, the increasing evidence of self-harm amongst my school peers and the inexorable anguish evident on Facebook newsfeeds. My performance poetry, “Je ne Comprends Pas,” is the culmination of research and reflection on the cause and effect of generational differences around resilience. I wanted my poetic voice to interrogate the inscrutable nature of resilience, characterized by the repetition of my title “I Don’t Understand” in different languages to exemplify the universality of the problem for today’s youth. The medium of performance poetry gave me a way of connecting with fellow ‘first-world’ adolescents, challenging those on the cusp of adulthood not to enter a ‘brave new world,’ but, a new world bravely. A new-found appreciation of ‘social realism’ through Tim Winton’s autobiographical memoir, Land’s Edge ,2 and Gwen Harwood’s poem, Alter Ego , studied in the Preliminary English Course, offered insight into the way various notions of ‘happiness’ can define our sense of self and how this is an integral component of resilience. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics3 figures reveal that suicide is the leading cause of death in young adults, with ‘one youth a week’ committing suicide in Australia. A surfeit of ‘resilience building ’ non- 4 fiction, including the ‘Resilience Donut’ program , postulate that ‘Bubble wrapping,’ ‘Snow ploughing,’ ‘Helicopter’ parenti