草莓世代 The Strawberry Generation
The elders have been calling the younger generation “the strawberry generation”-- good-looking on the outside but easily crushed under pressure. Even though the strawberry generation is blamed and under-esteemed by our society, they are not the ones to blame and there are a lot of potentials in them. It’s just that they have not yet had a chance to take up real responsibilities and demonstrate their capabilities yet. Instead of trampling on their image, adults should realize that they are themselves responsible for creating this generation of less-than-satisfactory youths.
First and foremost is their over-protection of the younger generation that has left the strawberries more fragile than others. Having grown up in a difficult times themselves, the adults of our time strived to provide their children with the safest and best environment, and ended up spoiling the children. They could have cultivated their children’s into lemons like themselves, strong on the outside, sour in the inside, but instead, they nourished the children into strawberries and complain that their children are too vulnerable afterwards.
If the strawberry generation lacks training, it’s never too late to start. Yet the elders have been too busy complaining about the bad points of the teens to notice the potentials of the strawberry generation. This generation of youths is full of vitality, creativity and sensitivity. The strawberries might seem less tolerable of pressure, but that intolerance always pushes them to find other alternatives. With the easy access to all information, the younger generation has become observant of all latest events, and has a sharp sense of the bigger picture of the entire world. These will be advantages as the youths face the rapidly changing society and compete in the global village, which the elders fail to appreciate.
The era for the strawberry generation to lead has not come yet; therefore, the conclusion as to whether they are incapable of dealing with pressure and hard work can only be made after seeing their real performance. Instead of complaining about the fragility of the strawberry generation, perhaps the older generation could try to guide them and help them for a change. Maybe that will bring out more good than mutual hostility.
The elders have been calling the younger generation “the strawberry generation”-- good-looking on the outside but easily crushed under pressure. Even though the strawberry generation is blamed and under-esteemed by our society, they are not the ones to blame and there are a lot of potentials in them. It’s just that they have not yet had a chance to take up real responsibilities and demonstrate their capabilities yet. Instead of trampling on their image, adults should realize that they are themselves responsible for creating this generation of less-than-satisfactory youths.
First and foremost is their over-protection of the younger generation that has left the strawberries more fragile than others. Having grown up in a difficult times themselves, the adults of our time strived to provide their children with the safest and best environment, and ended up spoiling the children. They could have cultivated their children’s into lemons like themselves, strong on the outside, sour in the inside, but instead, they nourished the children into strawberries and complain that their children are too vulnerable afterwards.
If the strawberry generation lacks training, it’s never too late to start. Yet the elders have been too busy complaining about the bad points of the teens to notice the potentials of the strawberry generation. This generation of youths is full of vitality, creativity and sensitivity. The strawberries might seem less tolerable of pressure, but that intolerance always pushes them to find other alternatives. With the easy access to all information, the younger generation has become observant of all latest events, and has a sharp sense of the bigger picture of the entire world. These will be advantages as the youths face the rapidly changing society and compete in the global village, which the elders fail to appreciate.
The era for the strawberry generation to lead has not come yet; therefore, the conclusion as to whether they are incapable of dealing with pressure and hard work can only be made after seeing their real performance. Instead of complaining about the fragility of the strawberry generation, perhaps the older generation could try to guide them and help them for a change. Maybe that will bring out more good than mutual hostility.