YOUTHS AND IDENTITY
Youthful age is the most crucial age which can be termed as the
foundation or building blocks of life; these are the formative of life evolving
the individual into adulthood. Every human being is expressly unique; no two
persons in the world are unerringly comparable in their uniqueness (natural endowment).
However every human being is a store house of talents; why copy others when you
can do it better than them. In life challenges will come your way while pushing
to make it, some will call you names such as Mr. know it all, over ambitious
man, there will be failure and mockery as well.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary sixth edition defined IDENTITY as “who or what somebody or
something is or the characteristics, feelings or beliefs that distinguish
people from others” while the Merriam Webster Dictionary defined IDENTITY as the
distinguishing character or personality of an individual.
The question is what is your
identity?
You either unfold your identity or die as a copy of someone’s identity. Follow me to the book of Romans chapter
12:2 “And be not conformed to this world
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Your identity is that
which you can do in a peculiar and extraordinary way. Many youths have not sit
down to eavesdrop to their inner mind to be able to discover that which they can
do so exceptionally which has made many to front wall their identity and desperately
try to look like others. An effort to be like another person is an effort to
façade your identity. The moment you façade your identity, you will remain a riffraff.
Preponderance of our youths today is mimicking some popular musicians, popular
actor or actresses, authors and so on forgetting that they are storeroom of
flair.
A British make-up artist. Jordan James adores Kim Kardashian so much
that he had spent a whooping sum of money on cosmetics surgical procedures so
that he could look like her. He undergoes over 50 surgical, including Botox (medical
injections used to treat wrinkles, lip and cheek fillers, eyebrow tattoos and
laser hair removal). Regrettably, Jordan James is still very much far from
being exactly like Kardashian. Isn’t this a rat race?
Sometimes,
we jump out of the gate with a great idea that one can polish and
run with. Everything’s going well -- until you get hit with a failure.
Failure punches you in the gut, leaving you with throbbing wounds and the
inability to do anything but moan about what might have been. But take heart --
failure isn’t
the end, unless you let it be. Failure means you’re on
the road so many others have taken to success. Don’t
believe me? Here are people who lived through failure and refuse to copy
another person’s identity before going
on to become names known around the world:
Albert
Einstein: Despite being known as a true genius in the
present day, this intellectual didn’t have a great start (to say
he was running behind is an understatement). As a kid, he didn’t
begin to speak a word until he was 4 years old. A few years later,
his elementary school teachers considered him lazy because he would ask
abstract questions that made no sense to others. He kept on anyway, eventually
formulating the theory of relativity -- something most of us still can’t understand
today.
Benjamin
Franklin: A founding father, the inventor of bifocals and
the lightning rod and elementary-school dropout -- it sounds
crazy, but this is an accurate description of Franklin. His family couldn’t
afford to finance his education after his 10th birthday, but that didn’t stop
him. He read books like crazy and took every opportunity he could to learn.
Ironically, Franklin is now found in the history books
that 10-year-old kids around the world read every day.
Oprah Winfrey: To
many, losing a child is worse than losing a business. Oprah lived through this
hellish reality after giving birth at 14. She managed to not only overcome
this, but also being repeatedly molested by her cousin, uncle and
a family friend. Despite her tragic past, she has worked hard to become a
success and amass a net worth of $2.9 billion.
A. A. Alien: He was brought
up and his feeding bottle was alcohol, he knows nothing but alcohol from
childhood. Though he never allowed the devil to mask his identity and stand to
be the best amongst all and a great teacher and speaker in the world.
Benny Hinn: he suffered
tuberculosis from childhood that made people despise him. He had no friend, even in the dormitory
people don’t associate
with him, they shift his locker to another side so they won’t be affected by the deadly disease attacking him
until the day he stood to say devil enough is enough.
Dear friend join me to the scripture let us look and see stories of
people who did not mask their identity though where faced with several battles.
Joseph: Joseph was
faced with the battle of Conspiracy from his brethren following the disclosure
of his dreams to his brethren which hurled him to Pharaoh’s house where he faced the skirmish of accusation
because of his decency yet. He never obey the rules of the world. Genesis
37:1-49
Note: challenges confirm the presence of greatness, the devil does not
waste his time to fight a nonentity and you should not use your hand to invite
the devil. The only way you can look at people’s life and identify with is when the role they play
and their endurance is Christ like. Then let their life encourage you never to
say no and never to give up insisted of emulating a certain dress of a
musician, language and character and or even appearance.
In summary: Pst. (Dr.) Paul Enenche wrote “The way you are thinking,
talking and acting today are all determining the harvest of tomorrow”. Do not
allow anyone to determine what you do or how you do them. This is the right
time to decide what path to follow in your life and I tell you by the time you
advance to middle age you will begin to see the difference and look back with
gratitude to God.
Remember that all men are created equal and with a seed inside him or
her which must be nurtured, everyone is a storehouse of talent, no one will be
judged by the colour of his skin but by the content of his character.
I remain,
Nwafor Harrison
Uchenna
Founder and President, Betlamb Foundation, Abuja
Great piece. Keep up the good work.
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