In Youth I Trust
Why would I be pessimistic about contemporary youth? There are
certainly many reasons to be pessimistic. Thus, none of
them are comparable to the intelligence, the creativity, and the courage of today's youth. As sign of intelligence, Jacob Barnett, 16 years old American is
the youngest physician ever. With an IQ of 170[1],
higher than Albert Einstein, publishing a physics research paper at the age of
13, and by studying at the perimeter institute for theoretical physics in
Waterloo, Jacob is certainly one of the most promising physicians in the world.
Because of youth like Jacob, I can say that I am optimistic about today’s
youth. However, not every youth have such intelligence, but, through education,
I think contemporary youth are smarter. According to the United Nations[2],
by 2015, youth non-literacy rates are projected to fall from 11% to 8%
globally. Africa’s secondary school enrolment rates have increased by 40%.
These statistics show that there is still a lot to do, but a lot have been done
concerning education. By being in school, youth of this generation would be better thinker, and more educated that is why I am optimistic about youth.
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| Param Jaggi's picture |
Other than education, youth’s creativity forces me to be optimistic
about the future. For instance, Param Jaggi, the 17 year old student, who
invented a device that turns co2 into oxygen. This might not seem to be an
important invention in fact, it is because it reduces pollution coming from car. As
we now, cars are one of the things that contribute the most to pollution since cars produce a lot of Co2. As
another example, Boyan Slat 19 year old, invented a floating boom powered by
the sun and the waves. This boom captures tons of plastics from the ocean or
from any source of water without capturing and killing fish. With such
inventions created by teens, it is hard to be pessimistic about them when their
creations are saving the planet for a better future. As Hebert Hoover, said
long time before, “Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and
die.” From the perspective of the environment, it is exactly the same thing.
Our parents and grand-parents were over utilised the planet resources now we are
fighting to restore the planet equilibrium.
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| Malala's picture by Glamour |
Contemporary youth are also courageous in terms of fighting for
their right and liberty. They are not afraid to protest when it is needed.
I remember when Pauline Marois’s government wanted to increase education price,
students have reacted immediately by going in the streets to protest. As a
cause, many of them had to redo certain courses. Some even lost a whole
session. As a more concrete example, Malala Yousafzai, a young activist of 16
year old who has been the target of an assassination plot by Taliban leaders. Because
of the fact that she advocate for education and women’s right, Malala received
a bullet in the head that went through her neck and ended in her shoulder[3].
Miraculously, she survived. Because of youth like Malala, I feel very
optimistic about contemporary youth even though not all of them are like this
famous activist who contribute to make the world a better place to live.
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