The Beauty of Youth

The beauty of youth is that the reset button works.

image: ric.edu

All my heroes have one thing in common -- they've had to press the reset buttons growing up as an adventurous youth. I got the frankness in my writings from Mark Twain, the humor mixed with disregard for public opinions from Oscar Wilde and the passion to keep writing daily from George Bernard Shaw. Mark Twain generously used his reset button, switching careers like clothes throughout his youth. Oscar Wilde followed all his passions. George Bernard Shaw wrote on everything that interested him and wrote daily. They spent their whole youth exploring and hitting on the reset button when they felt the need to. And over 100 years later, some adventurous boy in Nigeria (me) is finding the courage to go after his dream life from them. And putting his reset button to a good use.

My favorite movies are movies about sailors, be it an animation mpvie like Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas or regular movies like the Pirates of The Caribbean. I can't remember how old I was when I read Treasure Island. In fact, my favourite movie, an animation, is loosely based on that book: Treasure Planet.  What I love most about sailors is that they get to experience life like no other person on earth. They end up having what I call -- world skills. Self-reliant, incredibly multi-skilled, great sense of humor and always staying in trouble's way. Obviously that wouldn't apply to all sailors, but it applies to the ones I who interest me. Of all the military men, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander the Great, the one whose live enthused me the most is the Scottish sailor and american naval John Paul Jones. As a sailor you are forever young and every major expedition is like pressing the reset button.

As a youth you should value learning and experience over gain. You've got a lot of energy and creative ideas, you shouldn't be afraid to try them out. No matter how badly things turn out, the reset button works. Most of the successful people struggled throughout their youth trying this and that. Yet they ended up being very successful and proud of the valuable life lessons and experience they got struggling through their youth time frequently pressing the reset button. Youth time is the most defining part of a man's lifetime, the best way to invest it is in quality learning and memorable experiences. Because the beauty of youth is that the reset button works.