I am an old Boomer baby now, with 70 creeping up on me, and I have lived long enough to see both the best of times and the worst of times. Looking back, I can honestly say I am grateful and thankful for them all. Every season taught me something. Every hardship carved out a little more wisdom. Every blessing reminded me that life is not promised, and that the world we leave behind matters.

I try to tell my grandkids, and my own children too, what they should expect, what they are losing, what is slowly crumbling away from the world, and what they still have the power to do. I know sometimes it falls on deaf ears. That is the way it has always been between generations. The young believe the old worry too much, and the old know the young have not yet seen enough.

Technology is both a burden and a blessing. It has opened doors we never dreamed of, but it has also stolen attention, patience, privacy, and sometimes even common sense. A phone can connect you to the whole world, but it can also keep you from seeing the people sitting right in front of you. Look up from the phone. Pay attention to the world you live in. Notice your neighbors. Notice the weather. Notice when something feels wrong. Notice when people in power hope you are too distracted to care.

Because in many ways, the world is moving backward. Rights that people fought for are being questioned again. Truth is treated like an opinion. Decency is mocked as weakness. Democracy, something so many once believed was solid and normal, now needs defending in everyday life, in everyday conversations, and at every ballot box.

So my advice to young people today is this… decide what kind of life you want to live, and then get up and do something about it. Do not let someone else choose your future while you are scrolling. Read real news. Search for truth, even when the truth is uncomfortable. Ask questions. Listen closely. Learn history, because history has a way of repeating itself when people forget what it cost the first time.

Do not be afraid to care. Do not be embarrassed to stand up for what is right. Do not believe that one person cannot make a difference. The world changes because ordinary people decide they have had enough silence, enough of lies, enough of watching things crumble while pretending everything is fine.

I have lived through a lot, and I know the young will have to live through things I cannot even imagine. But I also know this… You still have choices. You can choose kindness over cruelty, truth over noise, courage over comfort, and action over apathy. You can make democracy normal again by treating it not as a slogan, but as a responsibility.

Look up. Pay attention. Search for truth. Decide what kind of world you want to live in—and then help build it.