Part I-My message to youth today.
It is understood by most, your mind is much faster than your parents, grandparents, and guardians. While many parents can walk and chew gum, few can do what most of you are able to do. You are able to watch a movie, while playing a game on your phone or laptop, while you are communicating with your friends, using snapchat, text or another platform.
You are being trained daily by these many games and apps you use. Certainly this will train you to have a quickened mind. Many of you believe your parents do not get it, nor are they trying to understand your world, the virtual world that you spend much of your time in.
The rapid advancement of technology is accelerating far more than most people even realize. These games and apps are keeping. They are daily releasing newer, faster, higher resolution games.
Many find these games and apps compelling, fun, even intoxicating. Certainly you find them more exciting than just about anything you can watch on TV. Only Video Games you believe can bring these levels of intensity and satisfactory you experience.
Outside, being in nature, doesn’t come close. While nature offers many options, like beach trips, water adventures, sports, outside events, gardening, engaging with animals; these games & apps seem to be in another dimension.
These games also will bring many challenges, ones that you might not fully realize. Such as less sleep, even exhaustion. For some, depression, a lack of motivation, and other physical and health risks.
It is easy to play these games, 4, 6, 8, even 10 or more hours, on a beautiful day. These games continually offer quicker speeds, higher resolutions, more options. You are quite comfortable, while you deeply immerse yourself. How many of you have heard your parents tell you, we called out to you several times before you responded?
Do understand this absolute principle. When you play games online, your platform opens up potential dangers that you probably do not phantom.
These online connections open you up for identity theft, account takeover, spyware, data breaches, even DDoS attacks. Many of these games offer options, upgrades, that want money.
You feel you deserve to have the best, latest, most powerful software, while using these compelling platforms. Using a parents Debit Card, no problem, it’s only money.
The prevailing attitude among many of our youth, is “my parents just don’t get it, or get me”. Many of you, and your friends your peers, are approaching a fearful threshold.
Once crossed, your disrespect for your parents grows. You feel ever more disconnected. Many of you believe, “they just don’t care. They don’t know my heart, my desires.”
The actions and words of your parents, in their filter system, displays proper parenting. To you, with your ever developing filter system, it clearly restricts your freedom. Many youth somewhat, or even totally, disregard their parents counsel, advice, and even the restrictions that are placed. It is quite common for youth to back away from and disrespect authority, especially their parents, grandparents, guardians.
Is this wise? Let us examine this a moment.
1-Who on this earth loves you unconditionally? Who will always be there for you, throughout your entire life? Is it your friends, or your parents?
2-Who makes many sacrifices with their personal lives, to help you have a home, warm meals, clothing, and other expense options that few youth could afford?
3-Who drives you to events, to see your friends, many are not so close by? Who takes you on trips, vacations, and tries to teach you about life?
4-Who invested their resources, (Time, Money, Efforts) to raise you to think wisely, to care about others, to ask questions, to learn more each day? They give you tips to study smart. They encourage you to make solid grades. To experience life and to try out new things. Various sports, camping, even read certain books. To make everyday a learning experience. To strive each day, while learning more about yourself, your friends, and yes, others.
5-Perhaps encouraging you to join a club, to try out for some type of team. Many are there to cheer you forward. Who helps with some of your studies, listens and shares their insights and experiences, and yes, mistakes they have made? They might share lessons learned. They watch out for you, care about you.
What you might not realize, nor even grasp at this stage in your life, is this: A large majority of youths, upon leaving school for their careers, do get married and do have children. Their careers, and other life events have propelled them forward. These new experiences bring an improved, more accurate filter system.
Now at this stage of your life, you think more clearly. You realize in retrospect, your parents, grandparents, guardians, were always there for you. Now perhaps you are married, even have children.
Some questions I would like you to answer for yourself. Who would you trust to give marriage advice? How about parenting counsel, while you are raising your children. Believe me, they desperately want to help in teaching your children, who are their grandchildren. They want to be an active part of their lives. They relish sharing these new experiences with you, now as parents.
They want to love their grandchildren. They smile while you face many of the same parenting issues they faced with you. It is all part of life.
As grandparents, you might be surprised with the amounts of money most will invest in their grandkids. They certainly will give of their time.
Conversations between you and your parents become much more powerful as you display a new understanding of their many sacrifices. Since now, you are making many of the same sacrifices for your family.
You realize ever more, their efforts were geared to help you have a better, more enjoyable life. To prepare you to embrace life head on. To seize the various opportunities available each new generation has. You have freedoms and emerging technology that is unknown in many parts of our world today.
The vast majority of parents, grandparents, and guardians have loved their children all of their life. They are there for you, your family, until they pass away.
You now see more clearly because you are in the same arena they were. Marriage, having children, working to pay your own bills. All while chasing after the dreams and aspirations that America makes possible. Everything is now more real.
Your parents are esteemed by you now. They seem smarter, more aware now. You might chuckle, or worse, highly regret, how many not so nice thoughts, even words, you had about and with your parents. Even with your siblings and while you were in school.
Your new, improved filter system, views past situations differently. During youth, your understanding was limited. You had different perspectives in your youth, very different. Soon, as the future advances, you gain remarkable understanding.
My message to youth, part II will come out in June.