In a prior posting I talked about the quick fix culture that has evolved into our 'it's all about me' and 'want it now' way of living. Which brings up a continued question as to how this will affect our future generations. As someone working on a college campus, my job is to understand the health trends amongst our students and find ways to provide meaningful and effective programs and services to educate, empower and engage. The environment our youth grow up in is increasingly complex, high stakes and filled with a multitude of choices. As I focus specifically on alcohol prevention, I've found that the college experience has changed for our young people. A college degree today is a requirement and not necessarily an advantage, thus just going to any college doesn't guarantee a job. However, the transition to college life is still viewed as the time to let loose and experiment in social decision making. Students have increasing pressure to excel amidst an environment that is set up to guarantee success among a small sub set of the population; how will they be able to let loose while facing the pressure to be perfect?

A common way of existing that I've seen during my generation, was this idea of living a life you choose based on where you are or who you are with. Secularism has become a strong part of American society. Many catholics left the church, post holocaust Jews became more secular and a culture of sinning for 6 days and repenting for one day seemed to become more prevalent. Hyper sexuality, voyeurism and selfish indulgence have become a mainstay of self expression. This is evident in our culture of excess and the effect it is having on American's health. Could the mentality that we as inviduals are primarily accountable to ourselves- be a part of this? Is it really possible for an 18 year old to have complete responsibility over their choices in understanding their long term effects? No, and this may be why mental health problems of anxiety, depression and instability are emerging as a key health issue amongst our youth.



How might this change in the context of the hardships our society has gone through in recent years? Many young people graduating from college face the reality of not being able to get a job. This struggle has grown progressively over the last 5 years. When I graduated the challenge was about being able to translate an academic degree into a professional career. Today, many young people are going into public service. This might possibly help to build a more collective culture. The idea of community may soon become a necessity, given that we must band together to ensure our success. Questions as to whether the government is invested in our best interest hopefully become a part of daily conversations,  and may finally alleviate the apathy amongst Americans.

Yet, there's much work to do. For too long we have sufficed in leaving behind those below us and giving power to those above us. Young people endeavoring in opportunities to give back to communities they may have never stepped foot in can open this door. Americans are holding accountable those who held the power and ultimately manipulated the majority. Institutions are now being forced to restructure and find ways to appeal to and accomodate for most Americans in addition to fulfilling self interests. In this process we must continue to keep the fate of our young people in mind. This is something I constantly think about while walking within the walls of an institution, and I continue to push for our young people to be at the table. Our success depends on the future, however we cannot ensure this until we ask, listen and include. Take a minute to get to know the young people around you and you'll realize how much you have to learn.