Ah, youth. Youth in everything. People, babies, teenagers, dogs, nature. Look around and see what youth means to the world. There is a freshness and an impatience that can be refreshing and frustrating to us “baby boomers.” I know that sometimes I can’t understand my son’s decisions but I’m sure he can’t understand some of mine.
I hear a lot about how the younger set seems to think they are entitled to just about whatever they need. They have grown up on instant information from googling something to seeing the world unfold before their eyes. That instant gratification tends to lead them to believe that too much is not enough.
But, ironically enough, I was impatient as I was their age. I looked at my parents as not as “aware” as I was in how to live my life to the fullest. I rolled my eyes more than once and had a hard time understanding what my mom was trying to teach me. How did she know anything? She never really left Cincinnati, Ohio and had a sixth-grade education. I was able to leave when I was younger and travel to places she could only dream of seeing.
I was able to gain an education on scholarships without the help of computers. I did it the old fashion way by going to the library and looking up what scholarships I would need to pursue my dream of living and studying in Europe. It took hours of research and weeks of waiting to find out if I had succeeded. Now it happens almost instantaneously by email.
The thrill of success is sweet, however, no matter how you receive it. And over the years I have learned that my mom’s wisdom, although not from books, has followed me through life. She has been right most of the time. And with any luck, my advice to my son, today’s youth, will ring as true when he enters into his later years.