Essay on the Story, “Footnote to Youth”

When students hear the word "love," they are always interested or feel alive to talk about
it, but when it comes to other topics, such as schoolwork, they are not as interested and don't
really give their time to discuss it. However, if the topic is about love, they seem to be talking
about it nonstop and find it to be a fascinating subject. However, they are unaware that they
also need to invest their time to talk about important issues that would help them reacquaint
themselves with their true selves.
Seeing those teenagers who are pregnant really makes me sad because they did not
think about their future and the future of their children. They ruin their life as a youth, in their age
they must enjoy the life of being a young. I also find love to be an interesting topic, but I don't
really give much of my time in discussing that because I know that I'm too young to enter a
romantic relationship and I must focus on my studies first. I know that God's perfect time, love
will come.
The Jose Garcia Villa short story "Footnote to Youth" is one of the stories about love.
We read and discussed this in our class, and in this story it shows how the life cycle of a man
depends on the decision he made. I believe this story must be read by teenagers to see what
will happen to them if they make such decisions without proper thought about decision-making.
The short story is about a young man named Dodong, who is really determined to marry
Teang so he told Teang's father about it. At the beginning of the story, Dodong considers how
he will tell his father that he wants to marry Teang. Here really believes that he is ready to enter
the marriage life despite his age.
Dodong and Teang shared some lovely youthful moments before they hurried into
marriage without considering the consequences. They didn't realize that marriage is about more
than just love or the desire to wed one other.
Due to their lack of knowledge about adulthood, they regret and struggle with the
decision they've made as the story progresses. Dodong realized what he had done when they
had their first son. Teang realized how difficult it was to be a young parent with six children and
she also wonders what her life would be like if she married him.
When their child Blas grows up, he follows in his parents' footsteps. He wants to marry at
an early age and has notified his parents about his plans. Dodong has nothing to do with it
because, like him before him, his son wants to pursue what he wants.
Both of them realized that getting married is not easy, especially when you're young and
making decisions based on your emotions. They also understood that once you get married,
there is no turning back; instead, you must live with the consequences of your actions.
This short story demonstrates how history repeats itself. If we want to have a good
history and repeat it, we must already be aware of what to do and must not emulate Dodong
and Teang. We must carefully consider every choice we make and consider all of its potential
outcomes. At the conclusion of this tale, both Dodong and Teang are moved by their son Blas.
The story "Footnote to Youth" should be read by teens so they can learn a valuable
lesson about how they shouldn't make decisions based only on their feelings or because they
want to without thinking about the potential consequences to their lives.