I was privileged to be raised by an amazing elderly grand-mum. She was the most encouraging, out-spoken, courageous and bold woman you could ever meet . She brought me up with this mindset. She is the pillar behind my strong childhood affirmation which I can never forget in a hurry!!! She left a sweet taste of greatness on my lips.

So my question is, what taste do you leave on the lips of a young person when you have an encounter with them? Not everyone is privileged to have a strong childhood affirmation, so please be careful when dealing with any young person.

A story was told of a drunkard with two children, one turned out to be very successful and the other turned out to be a drunkard. When they were both questioned on the secret behind what they have turned into, the successful one confirmed the secret behind his success was that he looked at his father and didn’t want to end up like him and the other also confirmed he looked at his father and he ended up like him. So the moral of this story is that the way one child processes an information is different from the way another will process the same information, so be careful with the taste you leave on their lips!

Back then, a man in my neighbourhood was nick-named King Pharaoh by the young people around him…I’m not sure if he was aware of his nickname though but within the young people, if King Pharaoh is mentioned, everyone knows who you are taking about, again that name might be as a result of the taste he left on their lips with their experience with him (obviously ).

So my appeal today is, allow young people be happy to learn from you… Please let my young people feel excited to make you proud and not feel pressured to prove you wrong! Make a conscious effort today to encourage, be-friend and impact a young person today…Always remember a child will willingly take on your positive and negative feedback and work on them when they trust you, but when you push them into resenting you, it might become difficult to help them.

Kudos to all those great adults and elders that have impacted me as I journey through life. May your lineage and all that concern you be blessed.