I Choose To Stand For My Generation

Apparently contrary to the belief of the cashier from the pound shop that asked for ID to buy a disposable BBQ, I was born in 1982. The same year of the Falklands War, Jacko sold his 20 millionth Thriller album, Prince William was born, liposuction was invented, and the Delorean Motor Co. went bust (despite being time machines - see pic from Back To The Future).

Since the age of 16 I have worked with young people either as a volunteer youth worker, or for four years I was a full time Youth Pastor for a church - amazing time of my life, getting paid to do a job that was an absolute joy every day.

I've always had this drive, and still do today, to see young people reach their potential in life. Everyone has had different backgrounds, family life and education but the one thing that they have in common is the ability to shape their future into something great. There's a song that's been around for a few years now called 'Pick It Up' by Planetshakers, and in this song is a line that says "I choose to stand for my generation." I love it. I love it because that's what I've been about - choosing to stand on behalf of a generation of young people that have had their legs taken from underneath them.

Since I changed jobs at the beginning of the year, I have a new role which doesn't have as much involvement with youth work as I did before. This made me think... What generation am I standing for now? I've decided I now need to stand for two... I am still passionate about young people living life to the full, but I can't ignore my own generation.

I look around me now and see my generation that's paying the price for it's poor choices. Post modernism kicked in and made everything permissible. But in my generation are friends with kids without a family unit, there's friends with uni education sitting in a dead-end office job and a £15k debt over their head, and friends only just realising what life's all about a decade too late.

I choose to stand for my generation.