Real Meaning of Youth

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind, it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips, and supple knees, it is a matter of the will, a quality of imagination, a vigour of emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of case. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by the number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear, and despair – these bore the heart and turn the spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the star-like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what next, and the joy of the game of living. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.