I am not a big fan of poems, but the Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed really inspires me. I first came across it during an AIESEC meeting in 2010 through a video. It made me reflect on the purpose of my existence in this world. Do I want to accept things as they are and say and there is nothing I can do about it? Or do I want to make a change, and create a world that is worth living in? 

On that very day, I got my first opportunity to take up a leadership role and I said to myself that this is the time to act and make a difference, no matter how small the impact may be. I was leading a development project on HIV/AIDS and had no experience on the subject or on project planning, design or implementation. But I was so driven by this passion to make a change that I don’t know how I learnt to manage a team or a project and for the next 3 months I lived one of the most enriching experience of my life. This experience led to others, and I just followed my passion.

Read the message, then read it again in reverse. Which generation do you belong in?

I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .