sunday's word: young

peter johnson in chop suey, bruce weber, 2001

yung

inexperienced, unseasoned, untested

flexible, full of energy + vitality, vigorous

newly adult—of an age between childhood + full maturity

usually between 14 + 25—‘young’ is a relative term, depending on the age + mindset of the speaker

‘young turk’ – besides being a national identity, ‘turk’ in persian means ‘strength’ + ‘beautiful youth’ + ‘outlaw’

‘ydfc’—‘young, dumb, full of cum’

why do we value youth?

maybe because it represents life itself, the lifeforce, or maybe because we resent the lesson that age teaches us—the fact of our limited possibilities.

also, we value rare things, + youth constitutes a short chapter in the totality of our lives—the twilight between childhood’s ineffectuality + adulthood’s cares, duties, + habits.

for just the ten to twelve years of youth, we invent who we will be for the rest of our lives. then we become slaves to what we made of ourselves—through our youthful choices + indecisiveness + acquisition of routines we once hoped would save us from loneliness, boredom, vulnerability, + loss of meaning.

when youth is past, then, the allure of youth may be the hope of renewal, the chance, however remote, to fix whatever we find lacking in our present selves.

old english ‘geong,’ from proto-indo-european ‘juwngkos,’ from ‘yeu-‘ = ‘vital force, vigor’



‘the young are perpetually in a state resembling intoxication.’
--aristotle

‘the soul is born old but grows young. that is the comedy of life. + the body is born young + grows old. that is life’s tragedy.’
--oscar wilde

‘no man knows he is young while he is young.’
--g.k. chesterton

‘it takes a long time to become young.’
--pablo picasso

‘i’m not young. what’s wrong with that?’
--vivien leigh

‘you’re only as young as the last time you changed your mind.’
--timothy leary

‘may you grow up to be righteous, / may you grow up to be true. / may you always know the truth / + see the lights surrounding you. / may you always be courageous, / stand upright + be strong. / may you stay forever young.’
--bob dylan