Being a teen in the 21st Century has made me realize a lot of things. Things like we are on the verge of a revolution, not the political kind but a revolution of thoughts and ethics. I realized we are the “face of the future” and we will bring about that change in the world. I also realized that adults, those tend to control the world are the biggest liabilities that we need to overcome.

Surely, most might argue that adults are the backbone of the modern society who has the capabilities of thinking rationally, while young people are hormonal and despises rationality. And they are absolutely right for claiming that. But it should not be forgotten that such rash, or “revolutionary” decisions are what’s needed right now. While this wild opinion sounds absurd but if one were to give some thought to this matter they would realize that while pursuing all that is rational and down to reality attitude, adults opt out the important and real issues that actually matter.  

As I am growing up, I tend to prefer those down to earth, vision-less thoughts, and it has been a constant struggle for me to keep me rooted to my principles, because that’s not what the world needs right now. The world needs some drastic changes, some visionaries who can bring about those changes, and there is a real scarcity of people in the adult population who thinks this way. The group who has the most power is changing the world for the better, is doing nothing

Maybe one of the reasons adults don’t show any interest bringing about change is that they don’t have to live in the barren wasteland of an earth that they will leave behind for us. A world afflicted by war and hate, extreme climate and constant natural calamities. When Greta Thunberg, during her address to the UN Climate Action Summit, said that “If you choose to fail us, we will never forgive you.” and she was absolutely right. Adults have failed us in every possible way. As Nelson Mandela rightly said, “No one is born hating another person because of because of the color of his skin, or is religion or his background. People must learn to hate.” And that’s the truth. We, from when we were mere children, are taught to hate. To hate people of specific gender or color or religion or at the very least our next door neighbor. While many of us become mature enough to have thoughts of their own and realize the wrongness of what they had been taught, most don’t. They keep on continuing the cycle, until one of their descendants have a conscience strong enough to break it.  The world is filled with all forms of hatred – transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, gender discrimination. People refer to it as “traditional” and “cultural” values, passing it onto next generations.

John Green, author of a bestselling book called Looking For Alaska wrote, “We (teenagers) think we are invincible because we are. Like all energy, can only change shape and sizes and manifestation.” When I read that three years ago, I couldn’t quite understand what he meant. But now I realized, what he meant was quite literal. Teenagers never get perished. The gaps created by the ones who become adults are only to be filled by another generation of teens. But the problem is no one takes us seriously. Either grown-ups are too dumb to know that our opinions if not perfect, are way more innovative and useful or they know that if not ignored we would soon rule the world, or they are smart enough to keep us at the sidelines because they are afraid of our capabilities.

So, in summation, it can be concluded that adults fear change. They are so inevitably rooted to the status quo that the mere idea of something new and different scares them. Even though recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the attempts of teenagers and young adults to bring about a difference in the society, but it still hasn’t been enough. Sometimes even the most liberal and forward-minded adults condemns the younger generation who wants change. And if we don’t look forward to change, soon it’ll be too late. And we can only hope that that deadline had not passed yet.Th