A Luta Continua / The Struggle Continues for the Youth

June is the youth month because the 16th of June is the Youth Day. Your mind might be troubled as you ponder on why would I title a piece about the youth with a title that some might consider as a negative phrase with ‘struggle’ as the key word. Please do not be hard on the brother, care to allow him to explain himself.

“The only constant in life is change.” Heraclitus. In 1976 the Soweto Uprising transpired and that was 44 years ago. The youth that lived at that time were living in challenging times. Their struggle was that of the system that made the lives a living hell. The struggle has not stopped and will never stop. We have to come to an understanding that a struggle is lifetime issue. Our effort should not be on ending the struggle but on living with it. Today’s youth face the struggle of keeping with the times. Hence, the title ‘a luta continua for the youth.’

                                                                                                                                                   

 Few thoughts

Reactivity, Proactivity and Planning: 

Young people must not be reactive instead they must be proactive. Reactive people lead a stressful life, life drags them wherever she wants them to and such a person stays ordinary. To be extraordinary one needs to be proactive, that is, a person must not wait for things to happen and then respond but he or she must initiate - and make things happen. A part of what making things happen means is planning. Planning is key, ‘an hour planning can save you 10 hours of doing.’ Dale Carnegie

Adapting to change:

Dinosaurs became extinct because they could not keep up with the change that had to do with the climate. We can consider the climate to be environment where we are living. A young person who fails to adapt to change will go extinct. Being extinct figuratively would mean being irrelevant. One or two understand the age we are living in. We are speedily graduating from the information age to the digital one. A young person who really understands the time we are living in must work towards getting information, training and education towards making the most of the digital age.   

Laying the foundation:

If you rush, you crush.  A lot of young people are in a hurry to go nowhere. They have lost the meaning of what it means to live, to them living means having fun all the time. I am not saying that they must not have fun, but there is a time and a place for everything. Youth is the time to prepare towards building your house, that is, your future; it is the time to lay a foundation. A lot of adults whose houses (futures) are crumbling today got it all wrong when they were supposed to lay a foundation at youth. Don’t fall on the same trap. Time lost in youth cannot be fully recovered in adulthood.

                                                              

Growth:

If you are not growing, you are dying. Growth is very important. It is the major element that measures our progress. While a lot can be said on this section, let me not be a man of many words and say, learn something new every day… 

Being an active and a relevant citizen:

Azania (South Africa) no longer needs to have young people who are too dependent on the government, those who ask what can or will the government do for us? This country is in urgent need of young people who have something to offer to the country. These must be individuals who are ready to share their knowledge on any endeavour that they understand and mentor the next generation. This will make Azania great now and secure this position for years to come.

A youth that will win is the one that is proactive 

A youth that will win is the one that adapts to change 

A youth that will win is the one understands that there is a time and a place for everything

A youth that will win is the one that seeks to learn something new daily

A youth that will win is the one that is has something to offer to the country  

May God’s grace and light shine on you!

Shalom! Khotso! Ukuthula!

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M. Thabana