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I start crying as I gaze at the faces of the young people on the other side of the horizon. The younger generation has been characterized as disrespectful overly emotional and lazy despite once being a proud segment of humanity. All three of these traits used to apply to me. I was an older high school teen not a boisterous adventure-seeking toddler. At this point I was at my most foolish and rascalized. I used to gripe all the time care more about my friends than my family and generally talk nonstop.
Then there came a time when I pondered my future. Would I always act like a child for the rest of my life or would I continue on my path to becoming a doctor as my parents had desired? This instance would act as the catalyst for a life-lesson learning process shaping me into the person you see on your computer screen. Although Ive learned a lot since then these are the lessons I wish I had discovered sooner. 1. Only to the extent that you wish it does everyones opinion matter.
Once upon a time I shared everyones viewpoint. Any preferences I may have had were overshadowed by those of others. This was probably a result of wanting to please other people. Regardless of whether the next guy is more popular or has a higher income than you keep in mind that your opinion is just as important as his. Everybodys viewpoint is equally important. 2.
You have power over your feelings. The majority of my teenage years were occupied by drama mayhem and emotional turmoil. People get angry mostly me when they are preoccupied with what is and is not in. If I had overheard someone say something nasty behind my back I would have exploded. Go all out. Upon reflection Im not overly shocked by those outbursts.
After all anything is possible when you lack self-control. 3. Disagreements are useless. It seemed to me that a single minor argument between friends would determine the fate of the entire universe. All I wanted was for them to be completely wrong and for me to be completely correct. Ultimately though it only led to the other person storming off in frustration and me wasting my time.
Is there really any use in arguing? Ive discovered that its better to hold your breath about things you have no control over unless its absolutely necessary. Among them is arguing to persuade someone to reconsider. 4. Your parents are only interested in whats best for you. Im not saying that all parents want the best for you—there are exceptions—but generally speaking parents act in your best interest.
The list of chores my parents used to assign me is endless: cooking cleaning sweeping mowing the lawn taking out the trash and more. And I would whine and complain at every opportunity. In the end I would do it. I genuinely now see the benefit of having acquired those abilities. Whats not to like about my ability to cook and clean up after myself? And I am grateful to them for the education they gave me despite my hate of school.
5. Social conventions have no significance. Believe me life becomes much more difficult when you base your decisions on what society says. When you ask yourself Am I behind the times? Whats the normal thing to do? Is this acceptable?
youre always on edge. This for me resulted from a lack of confidence in my identity. I think we already internalize this when we are young. We are only interested in expressing ourselves not in society. Then following puberty we began to care a little too much. To the point where we start to lose ourselves.
Let us return to our former selves. Unconcerned with conventions and content with just leading our own lives. 6. Youre not in a bind. I sulked every time I lost a friend received a poor grade or let my parents down. The only thing that seemed to work was to wait for the unpleasant times to pass.
Thankfully I now understand that you dont have to be stranded in difficult circumstances. Better ones can be made by you out there. It all depends on how you view the situation and your point of view. Life is more enjoyable even in the midst of hardship when everything is seen as a teaching moment. Youre not stranded. You are free to go.
7. Learning happens through doing. For a while I unwittingly adhered to this lesson. I used to try everything at least once to get a feel for it. However I started to be cautious about trying new things as I approached adolescence. I was captivated by skepticism then I was overcome by fear and finally I lost my courage.
I would disqualify myself before I had even entered the race. This lesson in my opinion is obvious. What you were unaware of at the time cannot be changed. However transferring wisdom across the time-space continuum would be nice. I wish I could explain all of this to my younger immature self. All will be well I would advise him to calm down.
Regardless of the route you take all you need to do is have faith in your skills and know that everything will work out. However Im happy that I came to these conclusions in the manner that I did. I became a better person as a result of every experience. Im not sure if this is reading by any young people but if it is I want to say this. Pay attention to life and its experiences. Everybody experiences essentially the same things.
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