“Always, oh Govinda, you’ve been my friend, you’ve always walked one step behind me. Often I have thought: Won’t Govinda for once also take a step by himself, without me, out of his own soul? Behold, now you’ve turned into a man and are choosing your path for yourself.”

-Siddhartha: Chapter 3

Being young in a society where media has a big influence over people is a blessing and a curse. I want to address how easily teens or kids base their morals, beliefs, and even personalities off of others on the internet. Your perception of yourselves hides within you and the media version of you becomes prominent. When this comes to play one can differentiate between followers and leaders. The leaders will decide to pick what is trendy and what is not. While a majority of people will copy them, it’s what’s new so no harm no foul…right? Well I want to clarify that it’s okay to like popular things but when it comes to the point you shadow others… where is the room for self-improvement? So going back to a younger audience, this group is most vulnerable.

In the book Siddhartha there is a character named Govinda. He is a friend of Siddhartha but follows his footsteps instead of venturing out for his own. The submissiveness Govinda carries weighs him down from his true potential. Govinda=teens/kids. Everybody has a different path that leads to the same ending of death. We each handle and go through things unique to ourselves, not our neighbors. Govinda eventually starts a separate journey from Siddhartha, just like two high school friends would after graduation. You can’t tie yourself down to someone, not only are you holding them back but ruining your soul in the process. This isn’t the real you, you desperately wanted to be a teacher, not a nurse. There is a chance you become hesitant to admit you like something because others don’t.