Top 5 Essays on the Question of How Young People Should Live

Youth is not meant for play, it is meant for learning. Adulthood is for working. Middle age is for raising children. Old age is for resting.

If you don’t learn when you’re young, you won’t be able to work when you grow up. If you don’t teach your children, you won’t be able to enjoy rest and leisure in your old age.

You may feel sad and describe your life as sad, but the truth is that everyone’s life is similar. Your circumstances may not be luxurious, but they are not extremely tragic either. You create drama in your life and make it feel tragic.

You have parents, siblings, and that is something to be happy about. While your health may have some issues, it’s not the end of the world for you.

If your life is dark and you choose to play around, where will the future go? Every situation has two sides. Learn to focus more on the positive, optimistic side of things. If you remain optimistic, you will always find a way to rise no matter what life throws at you. If you are pessimistic, no amount of wealth will prevent you from thinking of ending it all. You cannot control what happens outside, but you can control yourself, your perspective, and your thinking.

So, how should young people live? Live with optimism and keep moving forward.

"If we know that a hundred years are finite, why not live deeply?" Time is infinite, but human life is finite, and because of this, we must live every moment to the fullest. The question of "how to truly enjoy life" is a big one, requiring a journey to fully understand.

Enjoying life is about being satisfied with what we have, content with the actions we take. To achieve this, we must first enrich and cultivate our knowledge, always striving towards our dreams and aspirations — essential elements for a meaningful life. Every action should come from the heart, from a passionate desire. Only then can we unleash all of our latent potential. Furthermore, we must always be thoughtful, able to love and share with others, be willing to forgive mistakes that can be corrected, and give without expecting rewards because: "To live is to give, and to die is also to give." Perhaps it is this realization that has led Thạch Trang, a Vietnamese student studying in Germany, who is famous for her YouTube channel "My20s" with over 500,000 subscribers, where she shares inspiring films about her journey abroad and living independently. Only by wanting to give her all to youth and dreams, did she forge the willpower to create such a meaningful life. Yet, some young people do not know how to truly live and enjoy life, focusing only on themselves, living without aspirations. This is not truly living; it is merely existing.

In my youth, I cherish the smallest things, value every moment of life, dedicating my youth to my homeland so that I can truly enjoy life because "If youth does not shine brightly, everything loses its allure."

There are many factors that gradually change the way we view life. But fundamentally, it's about experiences. The experience of failure has perhaps impacted me the most deeply and profoundly.

At 20, I stumbled, fell, and often felt like giving up, and it was then that I realized I had never had a clear direction for myself. I had let my youth pass by without meaning. After numerous failures, I realized I needed to change. I needed to live a different kind of youth – one with real purpose. But then, the question arose:

How should youth live?

This question has likely made me, and many others like me, constantly seek answers. When the right answer seems elusive, we easily lose our way. Failure becomes inevitable if we stray off course.

The time when youth was tied to the revolutionary ideals of the Communist Party, the era when "the sun of truth shines through the heart," is long gone. Today’s youth carry plans, dreams, and life paths that are infinitely different. From observation, learning, and personal experiences, I have identified several key viewpoints on what youth should live for. I also have a few friends who strongly represent these views.

First viewpoint: "Youth should work hard, study, and cultivate knowledge and skills for a secure future. One must study when others sleep...one needs clear direction." A friend of mine represents this view. She is an outstanding student with a grade sheet that many university students dream of. She isn’t exceptionally gifted, but she is diligent, hardworking, and eager to learn. Her time is mostly dedicated to studying, going to the library, and reading. Her academic knowledge is excellent. However, her weakness lies in participating in social activities, making few connections, and rarely enjoying leisure time. She struggles with making friends and socializing.

Second viewpoint: "Youth should travel, enjoy life, follow their passions, do what they love, live for themselves. Youth needs experiences, challenges, and should try everything to avoid regret…" A friend of mine embodies this viewpoint. She is the vice president of a volunteer club. Passionate about traveling, she has visited many fascinating places. Her social network is large, and her busy social life keeps her energized. She has gained a wealth of life experience and knows how to build relationships. What she does is truly exciting and makes her life never boring. However, her passion for traveling often causes her to skip classes, fail some subjects, and devote much of her time to maintaining social connections. She still manages her studies but not as well as she would like.

Standing between these two viewpoints, I feel like a mediator, supporting one side at times, defending the other at others, as I haven’t yet found a clear definition for myself. But these two arguments have caused me to reflect deeply. From my perspective, I see both the positives and negatives in both of these approaches. Both are valid ways to live, yet they have shortcomings. First, with the first viewpoint, I agree that youth should travel, experience, and challenge themselves... We only have one youth. It’s the time when we have everything – health, passion, and the opportunity to pursue our dreams. Traveling, stumbling, and experiencing life helps us expand our understanding and gain valuable skills. However, excess of anything is not good. Over-committing to social activities may interfere with accumulating academic knowledge. We cannot succeed relying solely on experience or connections. As for the second viewpoint, I also agree that diligent studying and accumulating knowledge is vital. It forms the foundation for our future. However, if we study mechanically, we turn ourselves into robots, lacking flexibility and creativity. Experiencing and challenging ourselves is necessary to apply our knowledge in the right contexts.

These two opposing viewpoints, seemingly in conflict, actually complement and support each other. I think that in order to succeed, we need to find a balance between the two. I used to envy my friend who excelled academically. Looking at her awards and certificates, I felt inadequate. I also envied my dynamic friend. I asked myself a thousand questions: Why can’t I do what she does? But then I realized, the definition of success and each person’s goals are different. Someone may excel in one area but struggle in another. It’s hard to do everything well at once. We just need clear direction, the courage to follow our dreams, and the ability to balance other aspects of life. That’s enough. Recognizing this, I realized I don’t need to be good at everything, just to find balance so my path stays true. I feel more at ease knowing I don’t have to compare myself to others, understanding that everyone has their strengths. I won’t impose unrealistic expectations by comparing myself to someone else. I know that I am YOUTH, and I need to work hard in everything I do to achieve what I desire. This positive outlook makes my life easier, and everything slowly begins to change.

I’ve seen both the positive and negative aspects of the two viewpoints, and the third viewpoint I mention brings perspectives that I find unhelpful, yet they are sadly prevalent. Looking at the attitude and actions of most students today, we see a sense of apathy, indulgence, and irresponsibility. In their minds: “We are young, we have the right to enjoy life, to be carefree. We have the right to make mistakes; failing a few subjects doesn’t matter…” With such thoughts, what do we see? We see indifference toward both bad and good things. We see irresponsibility toward family, society, and themselves. We see them endlessly scrolling through entertainment sites, wasting time. We see indulgence and careless enjoyment, without any remorse. I will refrain from further commenting on this way of life, as I believe it does not represent a beautiful way of living.

In the past, I thought negatively, questioning why they could play around, why they didn’t worry about their future, relying on family or connections, perhaps? I used to blame life for being unfair. But now I realize that life is unfair in a very fair way. Everything has its price. And YOUTH should never be exchanged for anything. I stopped judging and complaining, and instead, I focus on living my life fully, making sure my youth is one I won’t regret.