A Love Letter to Young People

Every morning I wake up and find I'm not that grumpy old dude yet? I feel really happy. Young people aren't ruined — they're amazing, brilliant, and strong. We gave them a world full of obstacles and broken promises. Then we told them to figure it out on our terms. So here's my tribute to them, and a reminder to my generation about who really planted those orange trees.

We gave young people a world full of obstacles, broken promises, and contradictions. Then we told them to figure it out, but on our terms. And they, like young people have always done, told us to let them take their own shot. Because we obviously didn’t know what the hell to do when we had the energy.

I couldn’t be more proud of them. Nor more sure they’ll be just fine.

So every morning I’m not that grumpy old dude, I watch them stumble, but surely make their way through the smog-flavored pea soup we brought them into. And I stay ready to help if they ask. Humbly. Gratefully.

If we wanted young people to rely on our wisdom, we should have built it into their thinking. Since it’s not there, that’s on us. To become relevant, we have to care, unconditionally. That means putting aside our need to be right, our fears of embarrassment, and our own guilt. It means realizing our reality isn’t theirs.

It also means that we show support and respect for and to young people as they make their way and try and best navigate the myriad of challenges that life will bring. We are at a pivotal time for young people and so many new challenges we never had to face are present and growing. We did not do a great job of arming them with all of the tools they might need, but they possess a type of skill we did not have. This is the ability to change quickly even as challenges are changing. They are global and multitasking and resillient. They are also less committed to being right than we ever were. I suspect that because we do not see or even recognize these skills and their true value in this new world, we worry for them.

Personally, I think grumpy old men worry too much. Each generation is built for its own time, and is armed with what it needs. Yes, we should offer advice. But if they rebuff us? Maybe our advice isn’t as valuable as we think. Or maybe, like us, they aren’t ready to take it.

Being human means you fall. And sometimes you even get badly bruised, but you take the pain and sometimes you even cry. Then you get back up.

So I woke up this morning wanting to write this tribute to young people and their scary, but bright future. I wish I was one of you. But in the meantime, I’ll be content not being the grumpy old dude.

Reminder to my generation:

We can see the kind of trees we planted by the fruit on the ground. If we wanted apples but got oranges, getting angry at the oranges won’t help. We planted orange trees. Want apples? Plant them.

And before we throw out all those oranges, they have their own gifts. They’re the color of the sun. They keep wrinkles away. They protect the heart. They’re everywhere.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.

With love and respect, a not-too-grumpy David Allen Jones

If this piece moved you, feel free to share it with someone from another generation. That's the only link I care about.

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