Is Youth Wasted on the Young?

   "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." This Bible verse resonated with me a lot today. Earlier, I had a conversation with a lady about my nursing classes. I was saying that Anatomy and Physiology was really easy to me, especially compared with the difficult workload I was taking now. She stated back, "Well that's just because you have a young mind. Things come easier for you." I just nodded my head in agreement, as she is not the first person to have said that, and just went on with the conversation. But, I could not get the conversation out of my mind. She was basically saying, "The only reason you did well in school is because you are young."
   I thought of this, and then I thought of the fact that so many times people use youth as general reason for people's actions, successes, and failures. For example, there are many young people I know that have drifted from the faith they once had. I have heard it said many times, "Oh, they're just young. Sowing their wild oats. They all do it." Youth is usually seen as a weakness. It's a time in life where you are supposed to have the best memory functioning, but the decision making part of your brain might not be at its finest moment. Stereotypically, youths are supposed to think they know it all, and make plenty of mistakes in the meantime. And if you are a young person who has miraculously done right things, or gone to school and succeed in it, well that's just because you have a young mind. Even George Bernard Shaw said, "Youth is wasted on the young." And he must be right....right?
   Before I sound off on my thoughts on the issue, I am taken back to that Bible verse, in I Timothy 4:12. Why did Paul write this to Timothy? Because Timothy was a young person trying to do right. I'll repeat the verse again, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in spirit, in faith, in purity." The verse is saying that you do not have to fall into youth stereotypes.
   This leads me to my main point of all this, and that is one key word: Choices. If you are young or old, you alone have a choice. I do not think youth should just be stereotyped as some sort of rite of passage we all go through with inept capabilities. I believe we all make our own choices, starting in our youth. That is why Paul wrote this to Timothy. He was letting Timothy know that he did not have to fall into this trap of believing that he was "just a youth". He could very well make good decisions and actually become a leader right where he was. And I believe he did. Just the fact that Timothy was spending time with as good of an influence as Paul was a good choice in itself. It goes back to the idea that whoever you spend most of your time with is who you will become. Timothy definitely had the right idea with who he was using as an influence.
   So, back to my example, and the sowing the wild oats example. Why is it that I have gotten this far in school? First of all, I have had the Lord's help, and He has guided me through all of it, without Him, I couldn't have done it. But secondly, I chose to study. You cannot just wake up one day and be able to explain how blood is pumped through the body. And yes, my young mind may help me retain facts, but determination keeps me studying. There are plenty of equally intellectually gifted people who do not chose to go to school. It is the same thing with the sowing the wild oats example. No one forces young people to experiment with destructive behaviors. If a teenager starts doing drugs, yes, they may have peer pressure, but ultimately it is their choice to take part in that. It is the same with anything like that. You choose, by your daily actions, what path you are going to take. You do not just fall into a path based on your age.
   Choices. That word seems so simple, but when I think about it, that's how most people have gotten to where they are in their lives. Each day, we are faced with choices that may ultimately change the outcome of our future. And choices can really spiral into a lot more than you ever expected. I think youth is only wasted on the young, if the young choose to waste their youth. And what determines that, is simply the choices they make on a day to day basis.