“We cannot always build our future for the youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
–Franklin D. Roosevelt

As a summer baby, and someone who skipped Pre-K, I was always one of the youngest in my grade. My friends were always 8-16 months older than me. Being around older kids, whom I had associated with all my life, helped mold me into a mature teenager at a very young age. As the years went on, I found myself associating with young men and women who were much older than me. My conversations with those 2-6 years older than me seemed like an ordinary thing. Many times, when I would tell people my age they were shocked at how young I was. They would say “you’re so mature for your age”, or many times thought I was 2-4 years older than I actually was.

On the contrary, while I could hold a decent conversation with those older than me, I felt that being younger gave me a disadvantage. In many instances, because of my young age, I felt as though my voice was taken away. When it came to important decisions, no one wanted to hear what I had to say. Although I could easily converse and have a great dialogue with an older adult, when the time came, I felt as though elders saw me as a naïve young child. For years, I was discouraged and felt useless when my ideas were ignored. I believed I had great ideas which could contribute and help those around me. I knew I had a voice; I was just waiting for someone to listen.

I was in Church today, and for a few weeks, my Pastor has been leading a sermon titled “The Future Starts Now.” After having heard a few of his sermons regarding this topic, I was inspired to give y’all a little advice. Not only should we be thinking about how can we make ourselves better for the future, but we should also be thinking about investing in our youth. Many times, we forget to give the children a voice to be heard. I’m guilty of it too. But what we must do is encourage the young to be educated, to be creative, and to express their ideas and opinions. Don’t deny a young adult, nor a child the ability for their ideas to be heard merely because of their age!

I understand that sometimes older adults have years of experience versus a college student who is fresh out of school with minimal to no experience. However, many times we, as young adults, can find ways to complete a task quicker and more efficiently. Many times, we can work alongside our elders and collaborate with each other. In 20-30 years many of us will be the future doctors, lawyers, teachers, surgeons, architects, and engineers that this world needs. We work hard. We strive for success, and we have incredible ideas. We will create the technology of tomorrow, and will help change the world. I promise you, if you plant the seed of wisdom and encouragement today into the minds of our brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, nieces, and nephews, we will all be able to sow the seeds in the future.

Don’t tear others down or refuse to let them be heard because of their young age. Embrace their ideas and let them know that they have a voice. If we prepare the young, including ourselves for the years to come, the future will be an incredible place. Don’t ever let your light be dimmed, or your voice to be muted out because you are "too young". We must come together to build each other up. We are the future, and we have a right to be heard.