The Maximalist

What does it mean to be young? I used to associate it with negative qualities: indecisiveness, a lack of wisdom and irrationality. But as I have grown older, I have unexpectedly come to appreciate my youth more and more.

Growing up, I felt like being young was–kind of–a waste of my time. My peers seemed to be stuck in a mindset that I did not understand. Many only focused on the present. I focused on the future. Many questioned the status quo. I enjoyed consistency and a lack of change.

I do admit that I still want to be an “adult” and would not want to be a teenager again, but I think I did not appreciate my lack of responsibility and youth as much as I should have.

I traveled abroad over break, and I was surprised that I was reminded of the value of being young. Full disclosure: the people that I am going to talk about are not that young (i.e., they are still in their 20s) but I think it shows that we should all expect greatness from ourselves and young people.

After all, we are the age group that has abundant energy. We are the ones who are not afraid to take some risks and be innovative. And history has provided us with excellent role models.

While staying in London, we visited Windsor Castle and the resting place of Queen Elizabeth II. She was 27 when she became Queen and had such a profound impact on the United Kingdom and was respected by people around the world.

Throughout our time in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and France we saw countless monuments dedicated to the millions of young Allied soldiers who bravely fought to free Europe. It still amazes me how many Americans my age had the courage to scale the sea cliffs of Normandy, paradropped out of planes and left their friends and family behind to fight in a dangerous war.

We had a layover in Washington DC, which further deepened my appreciation for persistent youth. I was texting with my grandmother that day, and she reminded me that many of our Founding Fathers were quite young–including two 27-year-olds.

It seems like our modern expectations of twenty-somethings are quite low. I know that the world can–at times–seem static. But we are actors who can and have had influence on world and American history.

All this to say that I think more people–including myself–should appreciate many of the important qualities and memories that are made during this phase of life. So many young people have done amazing things and we can, too–even when it seems like it is out of reach.