Dream Seeds

I wrote the following essay for a Vanity Fair essay contest entitled, "What is on the minds of today's youth?" This essay will serve as background for tomorrow's post.

A young black man sits across the table from me. He is fifteen years old, and wears a loud, untucked, striped shirt, faded jeans, and the latest sneakers. As we begin to talk, there is something refreshingly different about him. He tells me that everyone at his school wants to be a basketball player or a rapper when they grow up. He is clearly in the minority – not in terms of race, but in terms of dreams: he wants to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He encourages others to have backup plans to their sports or music dreams, but he only receives laughs in return.

Young people like this are indeed rare – idealistic youth leftover from an era of Vietnam protests, abolitionist papers, and revolutionary minutemen. The art/life debate about what imitates what is irrelevant when it comes to finding what is at the core of today’s youth. Whether MTV reflects a reality of party-crazed teens, or whether today’s teenagers want the latest fashions and CD’s because that is what magazines and commercials sell, is a worthwhile argument, but it will not reveal the dreams that lie deep within each teenager. Yet because of the mainstream portrayal of youth activity, it is harder and harder to get at the core of what today’s teenagers are longing for – what they crave, what they need, and what they feel. But these true notions do exist deep down inside, where only the brave dare to venture. At the core of every youth is a dream seed.

Perhaps they’re born with it. For some, the blossoming of these dreams is easier than others. Some have their seed neglected, and it dries out and dies before they reach middle school. Some have their dream snuffed by a callous adult who tells them they’re not good enough, not smart enough, and will accomplish very little in their lifetime. But inside every teenager is a dream that is aching to get out and blossom.

At their core, youth want the same things adults want. They want to be taken care of. They want everything to be all right. They want security and protection. They want assurance. They want status and power. But there is a fine line that separates adult minds from youth minds. That line is not a college degree or practical experience, but rather the belief that one person really can make a difference.

You and I believed this at one time. Back when our dream seed was just blossoming, and a memorable coach or a supporting parent helped us to see that seed’s true potential, we thought we were the ones who would make a difference. When we rallied against ‘the man’ and fought ‘the system,’ we thought we were shaking foundations and rewriting history. But then something happened. After college, we got jobs and began to chase promotions. We fell in love and got married, and then fell in love again when we had children. Priorities didn’t get misplaced; they just got replaced, and our focus turned to new areas, like caring for our kids and keeping our marriage strong. We began to worry about whether or not we had enough insurance, if our portfolio was properly diversified, and if the milk in the refrigerator at home was expired. And while we were worrying about these things, younger people were once again sticking it to ‘the man’ and overthrowing ‘the system.’ We knew they would become us. But maybe when we were older we would look at our dream seeds again, hoping to revive them with the water and food they had long been deprived of during our years of living.

But youth today (and perhaps in every generation) believe that one person, singularly motivated and steadfastly determined, can force the world off its current axis and cause it to spin in a new direction. They think that people are good at their core and want to do things like recycle, sign petitions, donate money, and vote their heart. They are willing to work tirelessly to convince their friends that smoking is bad, underage drinking is dangerous, and backup plans are necessary.

If we are willing to get past the debate of whether Abercrombie and Britney are causes or effects, and look to the fertile soil present in each youth, we will see the dream seed that was once in each of us. It is taking root and needs fuel. The diets offered by MTV and most teen magazines offer a false sense of what is required to turn these seeds into trees under which future generations can one day sit and dream again. It is up to us, the former revolutionaries, to cultivate and bring life to these seeds inside every young person, the new revolutionaries.

The scary truth is that American Idol does more to support youth dreaming than our schools, churches, synagogues, or families. Shows and programs like this let youth know they have an audience, a listening ear, and a caring friend. Filling the void of supporting coaches and caring mentors is the advertising industry, selling an unhealthy dose of optimism that requires little hard work and instant rewards. Therefore, dream seeds quickly become dream weeds, springing up in the void of proper nourishment and care.

While it is easy to write off the youth of this millennium as lazy and undedicated compared to the youth who fought against slavery, for the female vote, and in opposition to foreign wars, it is much more difficult to nourish today’s dreams. We shout noble causes from rooftops like unedited op-ed columnists: racial reconciliation, the need for renewable energy, welfare reform, universal healthcare. But the volunteer list quickly runs dry when teachers and mentors are needed to show those who will come after us how they can cause the revolution we merely give lip service to. As my colleague Stephen Moseley says, “The returns in investing in youth work are never immediate. The reward is simply in being a part.”

Badmouthing Spring Break footage or sighing over headlines of teenage automobile accidents is simple because we’re removed from the situation. Getting in the trenches with youth to help till the soil, correctly plant their seed, and stay through the harvest is harder because it demands we be there to see the struggles and the failures, the letdowns and the regrets. And maybe it’s nearly impossible because we know that if we were to do this, we would see the dream seed come alive and we would be ashamed that we let ours die when corporate America and the Joneses came calling.

A quick survey of teenagers will give you a list as diverse as they are when it comes to what is on their minds: drugs, peer pressure, grades, sex, college, Playstation, sports, family, alcohol, friends, fitting in, career, image, popularity, violence, the future. I’ll admit the notion of a dream seed can seem overly naïve and optimistic, like a bygone poet from 1985 hoping no one would be sent to Vietnam. In other words, maybe I’ve missed it. Maybe today’s youth have it too easy. Maybe they do care only about music, sex, and image. But if I am wrong, I’ve got nothing to lose.

And if I’m right, and if today’s youthful minds have their dream seeds in full view and are desperately crying for a place to plant it; if I’m right but we go on writing them off as irresponsible sex-induced hormone factories; if I’m right but we think they’ll sell out eventually like we did, realizing that ‘the man’ and ‘the system’ can work to our advantage; if I’m right but we think the battles of tomorrow cannot be fought by youth, then we all have everything to lose. That’s the thing about a dream seed – you never know just how big it can grow until it’s planted.