We, the Youth

I always find it interesting how there is so much burden placed on the shoulders of the youth. Any present mistake that our community elders helped create or are unable to get rid of are automatically passed down to us. It is up to the youth, they often say, to eradicate these troubles. Is it because the youth are passionate, more active and more driven than any other age groups to achieve their goals? Or perhaps because they are unaware about the unpredictable nature of life and are therefore never afraid to dream, and to fight till the very last moment to make their dreams come true?

Either way, sometimes I feel that there is too much burden placed on our tiny shoulders. Personally, I know that I have yet to learn about and work on my own self. How is it that I can take on such big tasks? My biggest fears continue to revolve around my growing student loans. The job market is still a new concept for me, and I am still learning about people, about friendships, and about love. Everyday is a new day for me. Everyday brings its own challenges. Its own smiles. Its own struggles. How do I save the entire world, when I barely know my own purpose in life? Sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe.

But then I stop. And realize. I realize that the world can't wait either. It can't wait for me to grow. Things need to be taken care of now. And for that, we sometimes need the endless hope that the youth are able to offer, to at least try to make things better.

As an overseas Pakistani who is well aware of people always counting on the youth to get rid of Pakistan's problems, I think I am finally starting to understand why. Going back, I have often felt that there are ways in which I can connect with my cousins, but there are also many ways in which I can't. You see, the Pakistani youth itself is so divided among its class and ideological differences that I often feet like I can never truly fit in.The only group of people that I have always felt connected to are the other overseas Pakistani youth, or any other immigrant youth for that matter, that live here in North America. But now things are starting to change. For the first time, I have felt more connected than ever to the youth in Pakistan.  For the first time, I think, the youth in Pakistan itself is starting to connect with one another.

And it's the country's problems and struggles that are bringing us together. The youth, more than anyone else, want change. Elections are coming up, and the youth seem to be the most excited, the most lit up, even pushy at times to get people to vote and vote for change especially. And maybe that's exactly what the country needs. The push of the youth. As a group who has hardly experienced life to know that life is not as predictable, as smooth, and as long as we often make it out to be, we are being forced to come to terms with these realities. And that's what is starting to hit us hard. We have seen those among us being targeted, time and time again, when all they really should be doing is dreaming about life, like the rest of us.

So perhaps, when we go out to vote on this upcoming election day, it will not be for ourselves, but rather, it will be for the rest of our comrades. So that their dreams and aspirations can live on as well. So that the youth will never have to be hit so hard with life at such an early age. We will vote on behalf of Shahzeb Khan and we will vote on behalf of Malala. We will vote and we will push for change so that no one can destroy our ability to dream. That is the power of the youth. I think I get it.