THE YOUTH FACING THE WORLD Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks,

red lips, and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth loves adventures over the love of ease. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. Youth or young people fall into the period of life from the beginning of puberty to the attainment of adulthood. This period is usually coupled with problems as they struggle to fit themselves to the society. Difficult decisions and adjustments are now facing by the youth in todays society. Young people today have certain needs and aspirations. Different vices, financial worries, frustration and discouragement are threats to them. How do the youth today respond to this? I dont know but many youth today may not be sufficiently mature to cope with such problems, they go in the undesirable direction, compensate for their feelings by striking out against society, and revolting against adult authority. There are many problem and challenges that may encounter by our youths today. One of them is tension which exists between parents and children. Often times young people may not be willing to admit that they have doubts and fears about taking on adult responsibilities and freedom. They believe that their parents are overprotective, but they are mistaken. It only means that they are loved by their parents. Another problem faced by the youth is teenage pregnancies and venereal disease. This is not new to us. This can severely disrupt their education. Moreover, being pregnant at such an early age can also have deleterious effects on ones health. Perhaps the most important is the risk of catching the deadly disease called AIDS. It is said that few of our young people today attend church and the sad thing is almost 80% of them are those who do not attend church. There are tendency for the latter set, to become involved in antisocial activities such as drugs, stealing, gambling, and crimes. Maybe our youth, including myself needs to be enlightened. And having looked at most of the problems and challenges for us young people, I would hope that, or rather it is my desire that this speech would serve as a vehicle for helping young people today to appreciate and understand some of the hindrances which confront us and how we can attempt to end it. Thank you!