Youths of today are expected to uphold, to remember and embrace the ways of the future.

That was Moataga Tasolo’s opinion when he was approached by the Village Voice team yesterday. 

Moataga is from Vaitele Fou and he’s 20 years old.

He believes every youth should know that they are the bridge for building a better tomorrow.

Moataga works at one of the companies in town and whatever he earns helps support his family.

“I quit school earlier this year and looked for a job, so even though it’s not that much, at least I can contribute to my family,” he said.

“For I believe that we are the hope of the family, whether we are shaky or firm, we need to understand that we depend on our family, culture, and love to carry us through many challenges in life.”

He understands that in order to live successfully in the future, changes must be made. 

“Many youths think that it’s hard to have a second chance in life, and that’s why they tend to make wrong decisions in life,” Moataga said.

“This puts them in a precarious situation and how they fare with their lives will affect the outcome of their future.

That’s why Moataga believes that family is one of the most important factors that contribute to the life of a youth.

“Yes, family will be there when a person is born and we all know that family has the most time and the most opportunities to influence the mind.  Families are the first to educate a person about culture and other things.

“That’s why every youth must never leave their family. We all know that education and culture are connected to the family, which makes the family a powerful influence on how the youths think.

“How they react and what the youth will do and if, or not, the youth can successfully progress into the future while preserving things of the past.”

He said there were challenges in life that youths must deal with before heading towards the right direction.

“The level of education is another factor that affects the views of youths today and we all know that.

“Since education is always somewhat biased, depending on where a person is educated and who is the educator, education can steer the minds of people, especially youths, in certain directions. 

“Some youths, when they are well educated, want to leave their family and parents and live on their own.

“Some may be tempted to change their views because of new things learned and they end up thinking they know everything.”

However, he said the only things that could affect the youth’s ability and willingness to progress was not serving the family and parents first.

“We are the future of tomorrow.”