The Youth of Today

This morning, chapel was so uplifting. They had someone born in every decade since 1930 lead one song, and tell why it was important to them. They were all amazing and encouraging, but the one I wanted to focus on was a little 9 year old boy. When it was his turn, he jumps out of his chair and goes to get a step stool so he can see over the podium (can I get an "awwww"?). He adjusts the mike and says, "Good afternoon! Oh wait...I mean good morning!" Everyone chuckled. He proceeds to tell us that if we think our chapel is early (9 am) we should go to THEIR chapel, which is at 8 am! The little boy tells us that he is going to lead a song, and that there are hand motions he wants us to do with him for the chorus. But don't worry- if we don't know the motions, we can do them with him the second time around. (Again...aww). When it gets to the chorus, I look around and see almost every single college student doing the hand motions with him that we all learned in elementary school. When he got done, he jumped off the step and ran back to his seat with a huge grin on his face as everyone applauded him.

I had several thoughts about this morning. One, I was so impressed by how much courage it must have taken for that little boy to stand in front of thousands of college students. I would be so nervous, but it didn't seem to phase him one bit, even when he misspoke. There is a great leader in the making.

Another point was the attitude of the college students. I am 18 years old, but I still consider my peers and I "youths". We still have a lot to learn. And while it would have been easy to just sit in our seats and not do the hand motions to a song because we're "too old" I saw many, many people enthusiastically doing the motions to encourage the little boy. Afterwords, I also saw many students walking up to tell the boy what a great job he did.

Today made me think about the pressure that we, as youths, face. We are told that we are the future, that what happens is in our hands. But we also see news stories about how messed up our generation is. You always see news stories about the party that got busted or the teenage robber. You never see a news story about the students that offer free tutoring for children that may need it, or the teenager who said no when they were offered the alcohol. Granted, these may seem like small things and a story about a busted party is more interesting than a teenager making a good moral decision. But I am here to tell you this- I see our generation every day making good choices and making the world better. Granted, we could do a better job of it. But then again, couldn't everybody?

My encouragement to you is this. If you are a teenager, look for ways to make a positive change. Don't get discouraged by what you see in the media, but look around you for your peers who are making the right decisions. And if you are an adult, don't get discouraged by what you see in the media either. Actively look for ways teenagers and young adults are making the right decisions and making a difference. I promise you, it will encourage you immensely. I know people in my generation make bad decisions. But if you start giving up and talking about how hopeless our generation is, eventually those who are trying to do what is right will begin to believe it is a lost cause. So encourage, and be encouraged by what you see.

Be salt and light!

~Hannah~

Friends

Sometimes, you look back on a time in your life and say, "I didn't notice how blessed I was then". You may have been too busy to notice, it might have been something too small to notice at the time, or you may just have not known enough to notice the really great things, until they were gone.

Well...

In the case of friendship, this was not the case for me. Last year, I had a group of AMAZING friends. At both church and school, I was blessed to be around some of the most amazing girls and guys anyone could ever know. These were people who were always there to encourage me, to pray with me, or to just listen when I needed them. They were spiritually uplifting, and I think this is the most important aspect of a friendship. One of the most difficult things for me when I was leaving for college was having to face leaving these people behind. I realized how rare the friendships I had were, and I tried to treasure every minute of it. The time passed too quickly, and we all either went to different colleges or stayed back home.

And thus ended these wonderful friendships.

...Ok. Not really.

We all still keep in touch. I was talking to one of my more...how shall I put this delicately... -cynical- friends *ps, if you're reading this, don't deny it, you know it's true :)* the other day about the friendships I had in high school, and he told me about how they wouldn't last. I got depressed for about two seconds at the thought of losing my old friends. But then I realized that while a lot of friendships don't last, we had a strong bond holding us together. We are not only friends, but we are brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is the strongest bond.

When we start new phases in our lives, we are often told that we should move on, make new friends, make a new start.

I have met many amazing people here so far, and I know I will continue to do so. But I also know that I don't have to lose my old friends, because "friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them." (Friends, Michael W. Smith)

So look at the friends you have now. Treasure them, and tell them you treasure them. To hear that someone really values your friendship is one of the most encouraging things you can hear. And the beauty of friendships is that you don't have to take away friends when you add new ones- you can just keep adding more.

Be Salt and Light!

~Hannah~