Youth Talk

When I was younger I really wanted to become an author. And not just any self-published writer who worked another demanding job from 9 to 5, while simultaneously scripting their manifesto.

No, I dreamt about becoming the next JK Rowling or Michael Morpurgo. Of course, my naïve youth prevented me from realising just how difficult it is to become a published author, let alone a best-selling multi-millionaire.

For several years I kept replaying this fantasy in my mind. I imagined myself giving interviews about my book’s characters and plot twists.

I pictured myself at a massive book launch, with all my favourite celebrities in attendance. Sadly enough, I even mastered the perfect autograph.

And, then I realised I actually had to write. It is indeed a tragedy that Treasure Hunting will never live to see the light of day. Cold reality hit me like a ton of bricks: devoting my entire life to try and write a masterpiece was implausible and simply never going to happen.

I had to focus on a more ‘realistic’ career.

As English poet William Blake preached, the transition to adolescence is indeed marked by a loss in innocence and naivety.

My childhood friends wanted to be football players, actors and ‘the president’. Now these same friends are aiming to study medicine, law and economics at university. Our generation has forgotten the days of our past where all we cared about was doing what made us happy.

Now the current obsession is pursuing a stable and prosperous career. But still, hope never dies.

We all still have that inner child within us, and who knows? Maybe one day, you might see Treasure Hunting in bookstores across the world.