By Selma Neshiko
WINDHOEK– Youthful years are often a time of wildness and freedom. When any youth can do whatever she/he wants but at the same time that’s also when she/he gets to experience some of life’s most difficult issues like finding a job to support oneself a nd dealing with life’s other challenges.
Lioede Shimbundje, (23) a student says the youth stage is not that difficult but rather different from life as a child. “As a child, everything seems so easy, your parents help you with everything and you don’t have to worry about anything but at our stage, nothing comes easy, you need to be strong, you should know your worth and make the right decisions to survive. Shimbundje believes that youthful years are full of opportunities but it all depends on what you make of it. “This is the time when you get to learn and experience a lot. Some people have or get opportunities but they waste it on unnecessary things that will not benefit them. They think life is just about enjoyment, partying and alcohol and they only realise how serious it is when it’s too late,” says Shimbundje.
However, she also adds that the youth should stop being comfortable and do something for themselves. “Life is not that bad but some people would complaint about how hard life is, especially young people but that’s because they are not doing anything for themselves, they got big egos and try and blame it on life,” says Shimbundje.
Mylah Imene, a Business Administration second year student thinks the life of a youth is not easy. “Some people want to see you fail and at this stage everything you do can or will affect your future. Sometimes you don’t even know which path to take. Society expects us to do wonders all the time. The pressure can be unbearable.” “With high unemployment rate life as a youth is very difficult, life becomes boring to an extent that we engage in activities that are really bad because we do not have things to do. Life becomes very difficult when you do not have a job whereby you can earn your own money. In some cases we lose hope and some people start abusing substances such as drugs and with this they become unproductive”, says Imene.
Marcella Katjijova, a Psychological Counsellor at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in Oshakati says life is tough and you can only make it easier by reaching out and doing your best at all times to achieve your goal or rather to reach your destiny.
“The transition from being a teenager to being a youth has a toll on young adults because now they are in a competitive world and to make your mark good grades alone don’t make it, you need the right attitude, being humble and sacrificing a few things is crucial.
“Things like bad company, partying a lot and learning to save. I believe it could be the adjustment that would make life seem hard on the youth, but with the right people next to them life can be a smooth ride with a few bumps as expected,” says Katjijova. “To view the world differently means to stop and realise what you want out of life, and to work towards it. The world does not change but your perspective about it can change and you alone can make your world a better one.”
“Society has its own rules and settings, meaning corruption is still very much alive and nepotism is still around and this makes life a bit harder but that is not a reason to blame anybody but to rather see it as an opportunity to push even harder because life is about competition, and if you are good at what you do then the best opportunity will present itself. It can be frustrating but it is worth the fight.”