It is hard to know who to trust when transitioning into young adulthood. I remember as an adolescent how much misinformation and preconceived notions passed along as truth between my peers regarding sexuality, gender, relationships, mental health, physical wellness, and more. People had their interpretations of what a person was, what a queer person looked like. It was difficult to ask questions as I wanted to look like I knew what was happening in the wider scheme of things. Though I often felt out of touch with my peers and struggled to fit in as others seemed like they had their lives figured out.
Looking back, I acknowledge that young adulthood is a time of change. And change comes with uncomfortableness, and no one at that age is supposed to have it all figured out. I believe this is the most difficult time in a person’s life: the constant comparison to others and the struggle to determine who one is and what one stands for. We begin to encounter ourselves with our sexuality, gender identity and expression, and acknowledge things that separate us from others and things that connect us with the wider world. There is much that we learn in this time that it is inevitably difficult to navigate the shifts in ourselves.
When I look at youth today, I commend their resilience in a technological world where true and false information is instantly accessible, and they must contend with a very public social world. Even though my young adulthood was not long ago, youth today are dealing with a very different reality, and I wonder about the impact this has on them as they try to discover who they are in a complex world. Seeing the youth interacting, I think back to my early adulthood. I wish that this generation could embrace the uncomfortableness of change and turn a critical eye to the health information they consume. I hope that this would lead them to a version of themselves defined by who they are, but not what others want them to be. Youth Health Literacy |