THE PRESSURE TO MAKE A NAME

Less spoken of sometimes is the mentally-based, intrinsic psychological pressure that we as individuals are constantly under to be rewarding, wholesomely contributing members of our immediate social environments and communities in general.

This means, we are naturally endowed with the responsibility to reward the efforts of our families (and all other social institutions we are part of) who contribute to our upbringing from birth to whatever point we are in life. As much as this may occur in different forms in different cultures, the presiding expectation remains; you as an individual, in the end are meant to be a positive reflection of your family’s’ financial, physical and socio-emotional contributions to your existence.

Locally, you may find that this is very much a ‘silent’ psychological battle that the youth in particular are facing. If I were asked where I think it comes from, I would probably say it stems from the collectivist nature of our culture, the innate togetherness that flows from the spirit of ubuntu that governs our collective social interactions. It is this reciprocal nature of our socio-cultural being that places this task ‘on your head’. I, by no means intend to ‘pour cold water’ on a piece of our social heritage, however, I do feel it may be necessary to turn an eye to something like this because it is having an effect on the lives of many youth in and across the country.

Opportunities

The world nowadays exists in way larger proportions than it did 50 years ago; it offers more opportunities by virtue of it becoming a ‘global village’, which in turn, has borne about a bit more freedom and ability for individuals to choose what they wish to do. This is speaking, academically and the careers they wish to pursue, also, the lifestyles they wish to lead socially and most importantly, how they spend their hard-earned finances.

One of the challenges, I feel the modern youth is facing is finding a finely-balanced way that works between leading your own life and having to be an active member of a fast-paced developing world whose morals are all jumbled up while simultaneously executing fully, the duties and responsibilities that come with being a grown up in your family, for instance. The confusion that ensues is entirely understandable mainly because you are still in the process of discovering and establishing yourself as an individual while at the same time you have an almost ‘preset’ route that you are expected to travel.

Suggest

Of course, there are those that are well-adjusted, easily adaptable individuals who manage to pull this off; individuals whom onlookers would suggest have the ‘perfect lives’.  Alternatively, there are many others who struggle to with this: people who sacrifice their mental and physical health to work in toxic environments just so they can maintain their roles and responsibilities back at home, or those that can barely find a job to boost them up to ‘provider’ status. For them, the psychological impact is harder considering they are not even considered at family gatherings or wherever. It may sound a far-fetched to a few, but it is very much the reality of many other people.

Personally, I hold the belief that the more room one has to express themselves, choose what they want to do or when they want to do it, whether it be academically, with their careers or with their lives in general, the easier it is for them to be the best and most effective version of themselves they can be. Once this is achieved, it becomes a lot more fluid for that person to be an even more actively- involved, mentally healthier member of whatever background he or she may be from.  Send comments to runsford0505@gmail.com.



 

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