ROYP: Our cadets share words of wisdom that help them through stress and messing up

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

- Motivational speaker, author, and former politician Les Brown

Go big or go home, people! Live a little and give everything a shot! Yes, you COULD fail to make your dreams a reality but if you aim high, you’ll have achieved something in the process of trying. So, do it anyway, even if the world says no (obviously only if it’s legal, haha). You’ll land among the stars anyway.

Hey everyone, I’m Taina! If there is anything you know about me, it is that I love to talk. Whether it be via my vlogs, to strangers on the MTR, or simply to my group of friends, I simply love to talk. But loving to talk does have its setbacks, as you can grow immune to what is happening outside your inner circle. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realised that the real magic happens when you start listening. Learning to become more humble has helped me realise what I can learn from my listening.

“We are given two eyes to see with, two ears to listen with. But only one mouth to speak with.”

- Unknown

This quote reminds of me of how we were born with only one mouth, but almost all our other features are in sets of two. I learned that we should absorb and learn from what we hear, see, and smell, more than what we say, because sometimes we end up having a bigger impact on people through our actions and not through our words.

Hello! I am your typical angsty teen that overthinks everything. Being as socially awkward as I am, I find it hard to start a conversation with others, and it’s difficult to interacted with people. I’m always afraid of messing up.

“Fears are NOT premonitions. They’re just thoughts. Acknowledge them, then let them go.”

- Singer-songwriter and Youtuber Mitch Grassi

I’m trying to learn to not cry over spilled milk. If I mess up, then I simply try my best to let it go and do better next time. I try to not allow my fears of social interactions to get to me too much. A life isn’t a life anyway, unless it has its ups and downs. It’s time I embrace my fears ... and let them go.

Hey guys. I’m going to talk to you about stress.

To me, stress is a blessing in disguise. No, really – if you let it get the better of you, your health may be affected and motivation soon slips out of your reach. But overcome it, and you may find that there are benefits to reap. Something that will never leave me is an experience I had last summer. Stress, and a poor and imbalanced routine meant soon enough I was unwell. I couldn’t eat properly for several weeks, I was constantly dizzy and the medicine I was given didn’t seem to be working. I eventually got better, but at the time I was so affected by my negative approach and my frustrations, I was unable to let go of that mindset.

“Yes, you can stare into the abyss, but it’s starin’ right back.”

- From the song When My Time Comes, by Dawes

Obviously I didn’t get through my sickness because of this quote, but it reminded me of that time because it was the exact approach I was adopting to get myself through it. All things will eventually go away, but the message in this quote is a reminder that there are ways to speed up the process.

Got some YP love to get off your chest? Share your thoughts with us! Send an email to [email protected] with “ROYP” in the subject field. Tell us a bit about yourself, your most inspiring quote and what it means to you. Send us a lovely selfie in jpg format, no smaller than 1MB. Don’t forget to include your full name, your age and a phone number (in case we have any question), and you, too, could be radiating #goals.