People my age are constantly reminded that we are too young and foolish to actually have a legitimate opinion that matters, or that we could ever make a difference. We are told to be seen and not heard, which is foolish because it is actually our generation that will be the one that has the power to make the changes and holds all the possibilities of the world in our hands. The older generation has factually been here longer, which can make them wiser.
This logically then leads to the fact that they should be pouring into the younger generation, sharing some of that wisdom so we don’t have to re-learn the mistakes that have already been made. Plant seeds into younger generations and stick around long enough to water them. Teach love and forgiveness, the most important lessons in life instead of the six-figure career card. Tell them to go to college but tell them to go for the right reasons. Tell them education isn’t a gun held to their head and I guarantee they would use it as a weapon in their possession instead. They wouldn’t go out of fear, but maybe because they love to learn because they were excited by ideas. Teach them this, and they would believe that education is important for its own sake, and when they got there, maybe then they would have the heart to pay attention and soak in as much as they could. Maybe then they would learn about anything and everything they could get their hands on. Teach us this, because it then becomes something that no one can take away.
We have been split into different categories such as the baby boomers and millennials. Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one before, and wiser than the one that comes after. We all find hundreds of reasons to burn bridges when we should be meeting half way and working together to rebuild those bridges with a stronger foundation. Imagine the magic to be made when a wiser old-fashioned mind teams up with a younger, savvy pair of eyes. Imagine the endless possibilities if we stood together instead of knocking each other down; respect the young and chastise your elders.
I truly hope we are able to mend these generational gaps before the wise age off and history is forced to repeat itself with our generation and the ones to follow. It has been said, a generation that ignores history has no past or future.
