Youth Voice Matters.

“God created you for a purpose.” — insinuating that no one in this world was created just to exist. It is unsafe to proclaim that we ultimately learn our own significance from the hour of our birth, and take the track to fulfill this purpose as we age. Life isn’t a single highway; it is a network of roads. While the physical world can rely on some online maps to be guided along the way, the roads of life can only rely on street signs to give us an idea of which track is the best to be taken. Indeed, having been able to find the track for you to serve your purpose is worth celebrating. However, let us be reminded that the track wasn’t accustomed for you to smoothly dash in. It is, indeed, meant for you, but you are not excused from its hurdles.

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If there was a time that I was on my most motivated state, it would be my childhood, when I enthusiastically proclaim to everyone that I wanted to be a doctor. As I grew up, I learned that our family is a melting pot of genetic diseases — cancer and cardiovascular as the most frequent to inflict. My grandfather arbitrarily died because of sudden attack, and my grandmother followed only a week after, because of colorectal cancer. One of my closest cousins passed away this July because of cardiovascular failure. With all of these given circumstances, I felt as if I am already locked in a particular destiny to become the first medical professional in our family, so that I would be able to take care of my family members who will soon be ravaged by these diseases. Believing in my calling, I hopped on a journey to become what I wanted and needed to be. The mistake that I did, however, is that in my journey, I ultimately accelerated without braking at all. This is where I realized, that while I am destined to get in this track, I am also destined to be inflicted with all kinds of pain, discouragements, and disappointments along the way. It is for sure that these are innate components of life, and that we need to come to terms with it. These are the fatigues of life, and what is usually done to overcome fatigue is simply to rest.

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As humans, we always aspire for the best. However, as humans, we are also vulnerable. It is our destiny, but it is still something that we should work on for it to be fulfilled. When we work for too long, we get tired, causing us to feel unmotivated. Being unmotivated does not ultimately mean that you are already on the wrong track. Being unmotivated does not call for one to feel down towards himself. Being unmotivated is nowhere from being a sign of weakness. Like cars on road, we also exhaust our energy when we run for too long. There is always a time to speed up, and there is always a time to hold back. Like cars on road, we also need to rest and refuel. There is a time to drop everything and take a moment to breathe. We should label ‘resting time’ as a productive time. Remember that we are willingly submitting ourselves to the adversities of life for us to reach our purpose, and this is the reason why we wake up in the morning. Hence, taking a step back when needed will give us a head start to propel us into much greater distances.