Finding yourself
Kareem LaTouche, Youthlink Coordinator

"This section is where I give my views on issues I have observed. For more on these views, tune in to Power 106 FM every Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. If you have any question or comments, feel free to email me at youthlinkonradio@yahoo.com."

La Touche

This might be the greatest challenge throughout your teenage years; it was certainly my greatest one. It never became a serious issue until I was about 15, when I started to question many of my actions. Many things I did was for social acceptance among friends. But all this made me confused; sometimes I knew what made everybody happy except me. Society has its way of putting us in a box, and telling us how to function. Many of us have always been told what music we should listen to or friends we should keep, which leads to us spending our lives trying to please others to the point where we lose our identity.

Here are some tips to help you find yourself.

Private time

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, in his neswpaper 'The Black Man', recorded the struggles of the unemployed before the 1938 Labour riots.

Always spend some time everyday by yourself. Use it to reflect on your life and daily actions. Perhaps you did something that was wrong. This might be the best time to analyse the situation.

Private time allows you to think without interruptions; it can also help you to understand yourself better. It is hard to think independently when you are always surrounded by people. Not everything you do has to involve other persons. Friends won't always be there, and it is important that you know how to stand on your own.

Research

Do some research on your history in a bid to understand where you are coming from. This can be done in the form of reading, which can develop your reasoning skills by exposing you to different views and ideas. I remember thinking of blacks as underachievers because of what was displayed on the surface. Many movies and comedies depicted blacks as destructive, impoverish people, TV shows such as Good Times and Sanford and Son surely displayed this. However, when I started reading about persons such as Marcus Garvey, Ben Carson and Bob Johnson, it was enlighten to know that there were many black academic scholars and entrepreneurs. As a young teen this was very encouraging and enlightening, because I could relate to their stories and apply it to my life.

Don't be afraid to try new things

Try different activities and talk to people from different background. I remember playing football in second form. I wasn't the worst player, but I was far from the best. Being on the field every week, I quickly learnt that I could not play football, primarily because I did not like it. That's what's great about trying new stuff, it helps us to find out what we do and don't like.