As adults do we ever really sit down and ask ourselves what it would be like to be a young person in today's society? I obviously do because of my profession, but do I really try and put myself in their shoes? I encountered a lot of young people this summer in various areas of the country. I would ask them random questions and really try and listen to what they were really saying. I don't know if this is a new thing, as I don't have any children of my own, but I feel that most of them are misunderstood by others, but most importantly by themselves. What factors are contributing to the confusion and insecurities? How do we help in developing confident and secure children? I am starting to search for the answers and will report my findings at a later date.
With technology being at an all time high, do young people even have time to figure out who they are, and who they hope to be one day? Are we all so driven by what we look like on the outside that we are staving our insides? When is the last time that someone has looked you in the eye and asked, "how are you doing?" and really meant it? Do people ask teens about important global issues? They are are future and if they are misguided, unheard, and ignored, what does our future hold? On our social media accounts we look like we are living the dream! Snapchatting our every move, spending countless hours filtering our Instagram photos and coming up with the perfect words for our multiple statuses. Who is it for? Us? Them? Society? Will our young people even have memories about their childhood by the age of 30? Or will it be vague distant thoughts that they can barely recall? Will they remember the smells and tastes of their pasts that we now cherish as adults? I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I hope to gain more clarity over the next few months.
It is a scary and beautiful world that we live in today and I am challenging myself to make more of an effort to incorporate face to face communication with our young people, REALLY listen to them, and reflect on what I can do to make a difference.
I hope this inspires at least one person to take the challenge of talking and listening to our young people, as they are our hope for the future!
Until next time,
Leigh M. Ragsdale
