Are You Lost?

I've noticed a disturbing trend lately that targets teenagers and twenty-somethings, encouraging them to stay immature and delay responsibility for the sake of fun. It sounds good at first, the way it's often worded – advising young adults to "find themselves", have some new experiences, have some fun.... But what this really encourages them to do (sometimes implicitly, but often explicitly) is to "be selfish." These young adults are receiving the message that they are too young to face adult life and that once they do, they will have no more fun or fulfilling experiences. The problem is that, besides those being fairly terrible ultimate-goals in life, nothing could be further from the truth.
I've recently been reading the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris (with the foreword by Chuck Norris. That's one way to get people to read your book). It's billed as "A teenage rebellion against low expectations." They use stories from their own lives and those of others to illustrate how successful, satisfied, and fulfilled teens can actually be when they decide to forgo vain pleasures that ultimately leave them dissatisfied and instead set out to accomplish tasks that they had consciously or unconsciously thought impossible. I'm not gonna lie – I've met plenty of grown-ups who have crazy stories from their youth. Some of them are almost unbelievable and a lot of them really do sound like a lot of fun! These people managed to extend their partying days into their late twenties – a success when measured by this common modern philosophy. But then they woke up one day in a dead end job, with responsibilities and bills they can't afford to pay because they can't get a job that will pay them enough, but they don't have time to go back and learn the skills they need or go to college and now they're stuck in a vicious cycle of always trying to catch up and make ends meet. But man, they had a great time before that! Our culture views self-indulgence as a way of self-fulfillment. We've seen how well that's worked out for our celebrities. Most teen pop stars wind up on the fast track to self-destruction, and we're essentially encouraging our kids to emulate them. We should encourage our kids to gain new experiences and pursue their dreams. Not as a way to "find themselves", but as a way to stretch and grow them. Let them have new and awesome experiences, but let those fun experiences also prepare them to face bigger difficulties later on in life, so that they will be equipped to succeed. Two girls I know who are still in high school have found a way to turn their passion for fashion into their own small business. Both http://www.etsy.com/shop/poshmi and Priscilla-Grace Boutique at https://www.facebook.com/ShopPGrace are run by girls who are exploring their passions and possible future careers. Somehow, I don't think they'd agree with you that they are missing out on their "best years".