Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Youth and Hope

I am supposed to talk to this young woman -- a girl, really, she's still in her teens, I think -- once a week. but I'm a bad volunteer and a lazy person, and only managed to call her today after a long gap.

She's studying for a diploma in mechanical engineering, and she told me about her project with three other young women in her class. they built a refrigeration unit that uses LPG (cooking gas) and can be connected to your kitchen cylinder. She was understandably proud, and told me theirs was the only physical product developed by anyone in the class. And the lecturer announced it was top of the class.

I know nothing about mechanical engineering, but I think that's pretty cool.
I know another young man of similar age and college level. He's brilliant and hard-working and I'm awed by the professionalism in one so young. He goes to classes, he works, he goes to competitions and wins. I wish I had half of his drive at that age.

Those are just two people I know. I'm sure there are any number of youngsters lazing off, drifting around, as I did at that age.

Talking to people of my generation, mostly people in IT jobs, I see the cynicism, the complacence. I have a lot of that myself.

But I get fresh hope when I meet entrepreneurs. People who are trying to change the world, or at least a piece of technology. Even people who are just trying to make a living doing something they love.

I feel so immensely glad to have this, to know these people, to get a little piece of sunshine reflected off their lives.

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