December 08, 2007

Unlike the adults who sometimes give up on their hopes and dreams without much effort, the youth today doesn’t like to accept defeat that easily. Brimming with ambitions and aspirations, the youth is firm about their beliefs and not easily wavered from their ideas.

A student of class one may aspire to be the best ballerina in the world, while a student of class seven may want to be a policeman who protects his society. Both of these wishes are sincere and untouched by the resigned emotions which the adult population faces. The youth is a powerful group that doesn’t look around and think pessimistically. In fact, they are the only ones who continue defending their dreams, despite the condition of the world around them.

Social institutions such as families, schools, societies and media shape aspirations. Children and teenagers are two of the largest groups of television watchers and are influenced by what they see and hear. By watching different kinds of societies in the world, a child may wish to create a similar environment in his neighbourhood as well.

Watching a movie that is set in a clean and litter free area may influence you to be in the same surrounding yourself, leading you to start a neighbourhood garbage clearing drive. You not only can create a living environment you dream of but also influence other people to be environmentally aware. This could lead to making your area better for yourself and your neighbours.

You may also aspire to be just like your favourite television character that is probably fictional. Whether it’s a superhero or a regular schoolboy on a sitcom, the youth always want to identify themselves with brave and entertaining celebrities. Superman, Spiderman and Batman have always been the traditional heroes the youth have been taken by, but now different heroes such as Harry Potter have emerged as well. Although flying in the air, climbing buildings, casting spells and becoming invisible are far fetched fantasies, one could always learn a lesson from the missions and mottos of such heroes. Like Superman and Spiderman, you may aspire to save lives and like Harry Potter you may wish to be a leader not scared of facing danger.

Hasan Malik, a nine-year-old, is among the many who aspire to be like him. “Harry Potter is smart, intelligent and gives attention to others and cares about his friends,” he said.

A person can learn any lesson they want from fictional or real life heroes in order to make a difference in other people’s lives.

The family also plays a large part in the process of developing ambitions of their children who are very likely to be impressed with the profession of their parents. Children watch their parents being passionate about what they do and start respecting it. A doctor’s child may want to help people with their health and a teacher’s child would consider going into the educational sector.

But that is not necessarily the case. A youth is also likely to make career choices very different from his parent’s line of work. He could learn how one person can make a difference to others and choose an occupation, which does the same but through different means.

Meher, a student of class eight, said that she wants to be a fashion designer because she likes being creative and thinks it’s an interesting field to work in, even if you don’t have anyone in the family involved in that profession.

Hopes and dreams come in many shapes and forms, often many being visions of living in a better surrounding; like Manaal Nadeem a 13-year-old student of class eight who said: “I wish everyone was more united and I want to work on creating more peace in the world.”

Being concerned about a country’s well being makes the youth want to work for their nation. Their aspirations revolve around the success and security of their country and they would want to promote its qualities around the world.

Aspirations are not limited to just career choices or patriotic emotions. While studying about different places, some may choose to travel to different locations in their future.

It is also easy to aspire and aim for a goal if you have been inspired by someone who has accomplished something worth respect and admiration. Like previous leaders or famous scholars, one may aspire to send out messages to their nation by literary means. This could be in the form of poetry, fiction or essays.

Music is also a popular form of expression for the younger generation today and many young people may wish to be a successful vocalists or guitarists who tour the world, performing for different countries.

Similarly, sports is a colossal field too, and one may dream of becoming a popular sportsman. Pakistan has many successful sports teams, cricket and hockey being two of them. With practice and hard work, some people may aim to become a member of such a team. It is always a good idea for the youth to be involved in fields such as sports, music and education, as these vocations would allow them to inspire many people and get worldwide recognition also.

Without inspirations and hopes, one has nothing to work hard for. It is always good to set goals for yourself and work hard to achieve them. It is quite possible that those goals may change over the years but that is not unusual and as our ideas change, our aspirations evolve as well.