I’ve Had A Small Glimpse Of The Future… It Looks Bright And Promising

My wife and I spend a lot of quality time with each other as it has helped us build a loving relationship. Right before bed, we often engage in conversation about different things that are going on in our lives. Sometimes we talk about an interesting event that happened at work. Other times we just talk about something silly, funny, and light-hearted. And because laying comfortably in bed at night makes us feel both safe, yet vulnerable (akin to a psychiatrist’s couch), we sometimes talk about our concerns, fears, and other subjects of a more serious nature.

About a year ago, we began talking about starting a family. This is a sensitive topic that is often a source of discord among couples. Some couples have arguments about how many kids to have. While for others, unfortunate issues such as infertility can also lead to a strained relationship.  Luckily, we have always agreed that we wanted to have two or three kids. And fortunately, infertility hasn’t been an issue.  But one question that is difficult to answer is “When do we start?”

It always feels like there is never a perfect time, but we knew we were ready to be parents. Were we financially secure? Check. Were we settled nicely into our respective careers? Double check. Did we live it up as a married DINK (dual income, no kids) couple for a few years? Absolutely. In fact, we were able to travel the world in frugal luxury and style while visiting 25 countries together. Yes, we definitely enjoyed our time as a couple and we felt ready to bring a bundle of joy into world.

Fast forward several months later, and here we are in the present. We are one month away from welcoming our first baby. The countdown has started! And now, our conversations typically center on how we can provide our child the best life possible.

But no matter how hard we try, we cannot control the kind of world that our baby will live in. And the world can be a scary place…

The future of the world is…

One of the more serious things we talk about with each other is the future, and how uncertain it is.

When you turn on the television to watch the news, the future doesn’t seem so bright. It’s hard to ignore the clear and present threat of global nuclear war. Unrest and civil war is still an issue in many parts of the world. Ethnic cleansing. Catastrophic natural disasters. Mass migrations. Climate change. Terrorism. Global hunger and poverty. The list goes on.

And let’s not forget about school shootings. It’s extremely sad when you see the headlines “Breaking News: School Shooting” and a common reaction from people is a shoulder shrug and the thought: “Oh, another one, nothing is going to change.” No matter where you side in the political spectrum, our children should feel safe and school shootings simply cannot happen.

Staying optimistic about the future of the world is pretty tough, especially when you’re constantly being bombarded with the negative news of recent events.

 

The Children!

Yes, the future of the world is the children. And while older generations are usually somewhat skeptical of younger generations, it always seems to work out in the end. For example, I’m sure the Greatest Generation didn’t trust the Baby Boomers back in the stormy 60s and 70s, but things turned out fine. And do the Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers have faith in my generation of Millenials? I guess they’re going to have to; we are no longer the future, we are the present.

The future really rests in the hands of today’s youngsters of the Generation Z era and beyond. Generation Z is loosely defined as people who were born between the mid to late 1990s and the late 2000s.  This generation was born at the same time as the internet and grew up with smart phones and social media. They are extremely tech savvy and often communicate in visuals such as snap videos, emojis and short phrases with minimal characters. And the oldest members of this generation is just starting college or entering the workforce. Watch out!

 

Generation Z?

I admit, I was very skeptical of Generation Z. Because they are so well known for their heavy use social media, I thought they would all have some degree of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), FOMO (fear of missing out), narcissistic personality disorder (“but first, let me take a selfie”), anxiety, depression, or all of the above.

But recently, I have a renewed hope for the future.

Seeing the survivors of the school shooting in Florida speak out against gun violence was inspiring. They are holding politicians accountable and are creating real change. Because of their activism, several companies no longer support the NRA and some sporting goods stores are no longer selling assault style rifles. There is now a genuine discussion on how to solve the problem of gun violence in our government. This is needed and it’s very refreshing.

 

Prepping our future leaders

Another thing restored my optimism.  My wife’s mock trial students.

In addition to being a full time attorney, my wife volunteers at a local high school and coaches their mock trial team.  For people not familiar with mock trial, essentially it’s an extracurricular activity in which high school students rehearse to learn about the legal system and to compete against other high schools. My wife finds it very rewarding and she loves it!

I have never seen her students in a competition until last weekend. The experience was incredible.

I was wowed by all of her students. They are so bright and did amazingly well in competition. Some of them even looked like seasoned attorneys. And they were competing and making their arguments in front of real judges too!

Of the thirty total schools in competition, her team scored fifth place! This is no small feat considering the school she volunteers at is in a relatively underprivileged working class area in which only 35% of parents have college degrees. There were up against twenty or so schools that are located in very affluent communities. And eight of the competing schools were private institutions that require a rigorous entrance exam and cost $35,000 a year to attend!

 

An interesting case

Since I know close to nothing about the law, I primarily went to the competition to help my wife provide moral support. Who knew I would be so impressed by a bunch of high school kids half my age? And it turns out the case was very interesting (and politically relevant too). The case is a fictional murder trial titled The People v. Davidson and the circumstances surrounding the murder was analogous to the Charlotteville incident. In the mock trial case, a murder takes place after a political rally turns into a chaotic violent melee between an extremist, nationalist group and a liberal, pro-immigrant group of counter-protesters. The case also examines whether it is a search under the Fourth Amendment for the government to obtain routinely collected GPS location data from a third party GPS provider and whether this information can be used as evidence in court. Nativism versus mutli-culturalism. Privacy and liberty versus protection and security. Advancing technology and how it could change the way we think of “unreasonable searches and seizures”.  This case had it all. Interesting stuff indeed!

 

Final thoughts

Obviously, I am very proud of my wife and the terrific job she did in coaching her mock trial students. Yes, I was very impressed with the students for achieving a top five finish in the entire county. And yes, I was very amazed by their intelligence, speaking skills, and ability to think critically.

But what I was most impressed with was their expression of gratitude. We all went to a celebratory lunch after the competition and they repeatedly talked about how appreciative they were for having such a great coach. And a few of them were even thanking me for allowing my wife to volunteer so much of her time to be with them. They demonstrated a sense of respect and selfless maturity that I was not expecting at all. This brought a huge smile to my face. I was pleasantly surprised.

During that lunch, I watched the kids revel in all their glory. They were incredibly grateful, happy, and enjoying the moment as kids being kids. And at that same moment, I felt a wave of confidence knowing that one day they will become the leaders of the world.

Through these kids, I’ve had a small glimpse of the future… and it looks bright and promising. 🙂