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Wasted Youth

 There is an old saying that “youth is wasted on the young”.  The older I get the more I realize how true that is.  When I was younger I had no responsibilities like kids, a wife, a house and a job.  I was also injury free.  Now a days, if I can make it a whole week training without getting hurt I’m happy.

People in my life when I was young would always tell me to take advantage of the opportunities that came my way, because it will be harder to grasp them the older I get.  I wish I had listened then.  It is extremely hard to learn from other people’s mistakes.  They say, “A wise man learns from his own mistakes and a genius learns from others mistakes”.  I am apparently no genius.

I see many of the amazing athletes at our gym wasting the primes of their lives.  It is true that athletes can compete at a high level even when they get older, but that is barring injuries and responsibilities.  Many of them are doing more partying than training.  There is a line from my favorite poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost that always stuck with me.  It went, “Oh, I kept the first for another day! (Referring to the road he didn’t take), yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back”.  He meant that once we choose our path in life it is hard to go back to ones we didn’t take.

I know that it is tempting to do what you want when you want.  Most of my students are 18 to 25 years old and are finally at an age that they have some independence.  They see their friends drinking and partying and it looks so appealing.  I’m not saying to give up having fun; I merely want you to think about the consequences of your actions.  Everyday that you choose to party rather than live clean and train is another step away from being a great martial artist.

I also realize that not all my students have aspirations of being a great fighter or martial artist.  They merely use our gym as a way to get in shape and have some fun along the way.  This lesson of not wasting your youth applies to you also.  You may want to be a doctor, a football player, or just to get a job that will cover your bills.  We all have different goals, but when we are young the decisions we make have more of an impact on the rest of our lives.  Really think out your future goals and work towards them now rather than later.  This is the time in your lives to put in the hard work and reach for your dreams.  As Cat Stevens said, “For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not”.

BY: Adam Rocco