But, unfortunately, idealism alone often kills young people in one way or another.
By the time I was 26 I had suffered for my idealism a lot and then turned to Pragmatism which I found is more suited to human survival than idealism. Idealism is great in theory but not in practice. Whereas Pragmatism allows you and your family to survive almost anything in life.
Pragmatism is hard but then so is life. Life is hard. If you start there then you just might survive your 20s.
Pragmatism and compassion for myself and all beings in the universe in the past, present and future basically saved my life in my 20s when I got to this place. Also, getting married and having a son likely was the best thing that happened to me in my young life at age 26 also.
I couldn't be selfish anymore I had to think of supporting them financially and taking care of them instead of me.
Before this I could let myself fall into feeling sorry for myself that my life wasn't going the way I wanted it to. But, after getting married and having a son I was surprised how much respect people gave me for marrying my wife and having a child and staying with her and my son and standing by them.
It really surprised me that marriage and family was a bigger deal to most people than graduating college with a Bachelor's degree or masters or PHd. But, at least in the 1970s this was the way people were. Are they still this way? I think so to some degree. But, I cannot be certain anymore because I'm in my 70s and don't always understand youth culture of their 20s or teens today because of this.
In other words, "I remember being young, but that is now 50 years ago when I was 23."
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