Being Young Isn’t Safe Anymore!

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I’ve struggled with how to say it without frightening you or making you feel as though I am trying to remind you of everything that could possibly go wrong in life.

When we were children, not knowing felt like a kind of protection. We didn’t know everything that could happen to us, and perhaps that ignorance gave us a certain freedom. We played, explored, laughed, made mistakes, and simply lived.

Then, somewhere along the way, we became aware.

We began to realise that the world is not always as safe as we once thought. There is violence. There is abuse. There are unhealthy influences, misinformation, mental health struggles, and pressures that young people are expected to navigate much earlier than they should have to.

And sometimes, I wonder whether we have become so used to hearing about these things that we forget they can happen to people like us.

Even our health is something we can easily take for granted when we are young. Being young often makes you feel as though your body will simply keep working perfectly because it always has. But youth is not immunity.

You can be young and struggle with high blood pressure. You can be young and feel completely overwhelmed by life. You can look perfectly fine and still have something happening beneath the surface that needs attention.

That is why I want to tell you something, not to scare you, but because I care about you: please do not take your health for granted.

Pay attention to your body. Keep your health records. Go for a check-up when you can. Check your blood pressure when appropriate. Drink enough water. Be mindful of what you eat and drink. Move your body. Get enough rest.

You do not have to wait until something is seriously wrong before you start caring for yourself.

And I hope you will take your mind just as seriously.

Read. Ask questions. Learn. Think critically. Be careful about what you allow into your mind, just as you are careful about what you put into your body. Not everything you see, hear, or consume deserves a permanent place in your thinking.

I think we sometimes underestimate how much our environment shapes us. The people around us, the things we watch, the conversations we entertain, the ideas we repeatedly expose ourselves to — all of these things leave something behind.

So, please, be intentional.

I am saying this because I want you to have a long, healthy and meaningful life. I want you to have the opportunity to become everything you are capable of becoming. And I want you to remember that taking care of yourself is not an act of fear. It is an act of responsibility.

The truth is, life does not always give us warnings before it changes. We cannot prevent everything that may happen to us. We cannot control every circumstance, every illness, every disappointment or every difficulty.

But we can choose to pay attention.

We can choose better habits. We can seek knowledge. We can protect our minds. We can listen to our bodies. We can be more thoughtful about the environments we create for ourselves.

Being young does not make you invincible.

And perhaps that is not something to fear. Perhaps it is simply something to remember.

So, take your precautions today, not because you are afraid of tomorrow, but because you care enough about the person you will become to prepare for it.

With love and goodwill,
Queen.