Young Buck Syndrome

A Discussion of Programs & Practical Faith

Original image credit to Lili Kovac

My Dear Lovelians & Lifers,

Remember the pushy salesman who very nearly convinced me to take a financially expensive risk? If you recall my thoughts, I wholeheartedly believed in what he was selling because it seemed like the most efficient and direct path to where I wanted to go. It still sounds that way to be honest. Signing up would mean I wouldn’t have to waste time searching for the answers or tutors. I would be guided into the industry by professionals who know what they are doing. Sounds like a smart plan to me. And yet for some reason, you mention this sort of risk to older adults, especially relatives, and they give you that look. You know what I’m talking about young people; the lip purse, eyebrow pinch, and/or jaw motion that you know means they’re trying to figure out how to talk you out of it. Now thankfully, I have parents I am close to who are willing to hear me out and discuss the subject before shooting it down, but I know this isn’t the case for everyone.

I do not mean to indict all parental figures or the older generation as buzz kills because what I call Young Buck Syndrome is a very real thing and has led many young people down some foolish paths. Young Buck Syndrome is basically the tendency for people in their twenties and maybe early thirties to take more risks than older adults who have more experience and a lot more to lose. Their, or excuse me, our untethered situation and excitement towards living life on our own for the first time often ends in choices that sound outlandish to an older audience who may well remember the influence Young Buck Syndrome had on their own lives, for better or worse. Does this make all twenty-somethings fools? No! No no no no no. Us young bucks have the opportunity to be breaths of fresh air for those whose lives may feel a little stale. We remind people what fire for life looks like. So, Young Buck Syndrome is not always a bad thing; it just has a rather negative reputation, and, I’ll admit, for good reason. Because of this, it is incredibly important to keep in mind. It is in fact the biggest reason why I am wary when it comes to big risks.

So when the salesman contacted me again with a new offer that very nearly made me reconsider, I knew I had to consult someone outside my four walls to gain some fresh eyes. I know it sounds redundant. But why? You have such great parents. Shouldn’t their word be enough? Well…no. See, they’re too close to me as parental figures. I’m their baby girl; it doesn’t matter I’m not the youngest. So, you can imagine how this usually…sways their opinion when it comes to risk factor. Steady and stable keeps the parents sleeping at night. The older I get, the more outside advice alongside my parents I need. After all, totally disqualifying their wisdom is foolish. They are people too with plenty of good advice from personal experiences to share. The more advice the merrier I say, so long as the source is a reliable one, but that is a whole nother discussion for another time.

I called my friend who has quite a bit of experience living out what I call practical faith. I’ll elaborate in a minute. I explained my situation to her and what I wanted to do. Amazingly, she didn’t call me crazy or a fool in word or tone. Nor did she patronize me, as can sometimes happen when people recognize Young Buck Syndrome influence. She knows me; she recognizes how much I want to trust God and make wise choices. Here is where practical faith comes into play. Oftentimes, people who follow Jesus believe these two desires are separate entities, as if one has to give up being wise in order to partner with and rely on Him, or trust means to never utilize the world’s systems while naively believing success will drop in their lap if they pray hard enough. I’ve been on both sides of the pendulum.

Practical faith means I trust Him to get me where I need to be while also wisely considering and working with the systems already put in place. It also means recognizing His ability to operate outside them if He so chooses. He is God after all and not constrained to human methods. However, it is dangerously foolish to assume this is always the case. I do not want to live rigidly practical; there’s no risk, no stepping outside my capabilities this way. But I also don’t want to be flippant with my resources and call it ‘faith’.

My friend actually gave no opinion whatsoever in regards to the risk itself but rather expressed excitement for my pursuit of the industry. She then sent me several resources to aid my decision. I will say, my parents are doing this exact thing. My dad sent me a book suggestion yesterday, so I do not mean to imply my friend is doing everything right while they do everything wrong. It just…feels good to have support outside my four walls.

With new motivation, I delved into research. I compared prices of individual elements vs package deals and held the program itself up to what I know about myself and how I want to live my life. My university photography teacher can tell you I am often annoyingly direct. I knew exactly what I wanted my image to look like and had little variation during my presentations. What she called ‘potentially helpful’ for the purpose of generating ideas, I called a ‘waste of time’. I knew what I wanted so why beat around the bush? The program felt a lot like this to me. Wouldn’t it be foolish not to take the most direct path?

But the best piece of advice my friend gave me was to focus on the character of God (worship). By doing this, I remind myself who I am talking to. I didn’t have the praise and worship music genre on loop non-stop. In fact, I didn’t play any music at all. I find it to be distracting sometimes because my emotions are often swayed by melody. What I did was find time to pause throughout my day. I sat outside on the porch during lunch, opened a window next to my desk, and took a walk before dinner. I thought about history, how He guided His people in the past; I remembered songs from the Bible (Psalms), and though I couldn’t recall their exact words, I understood the heart of what they recorded----His noble character, love for His people, unwavering loyalty, etc. I called them songs but really they’re journal entries. I find them the most relatable writings in the Bible because, culture aside, they delve into the hearts of humankind and express joy, anger, grief, fear, wonder, etc. Highly recommend. Anyway, I did what I could to put aside the consuming thoughts of my dilemma.

Ah, who would have thought Worship and Clarity like to hold hands as they walk? I quickly realized I didn’t need this program like I thought I did. And, honestly, it fits my personality more to take it slow and incorporate discovery, not alone mind you; I have every intention of finding help when appropriate. But I want to enjoy the process of discovering every step of the way, and oftentimes the direct path takes away from that, or at least a path laid out for me by someone else. I also have to mention that I craved this path because I could see it. I wanted to fling my arms around a formulated schedule that would take me from A to Z without bumps or indecision. I was willing to pay handsomely for a beautiful, paved road. See the contradiction? Hence the dilemma. But the thing is, I’ve walked with God long enough to know the path unsee is usually the most fulfilling for me because here is where I encounter wonder at its finest, which, in the end, matters more to me than the destination.

Stay Curious,

Olivia

P.S. I bought a warped cucumber at the grocery store because it made my sister sad to think it would never be chosen by anyone. It was delicious.