The husband of the Vice-President of the United States of America (USA), Douglas Emhoff, has advised students to be mindful of the choices they make as they climb the academic ladder.
He noted that every choice came with consequences, stressing that to live a joyful, enriched and fulfilling life they needed to make more conscious and mindful choices.
“Take interest in your future, and make sure you do not repeat mistakes that will hinder your goal of becoming agents of change in society.
Make positive decisions, do not hold back, do not also forget that you are responsible for yourself,” he told the school children.
Peer pressure
Mr Emhoff, who was speaking at Yolo Town Hall Meeting, an event designed for students to address their challenges, added that the effect of peer pressure should not be left unattended to and encouraged the students to speak to adults about such pressures when the need arose.
The event
The gathering also brought together representatives from the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Services, National Population Council, United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), actors such as Adjetey Anang, Majid Michel, Aaron Adatsi, Jackie Appiah, among others.
The town hall meeting was born out of a television drama series, You Only Live Once (YOLO), that addresses challenges and opportunities confronting students and the youth as a whole in Ghana.
The topics that were captured in the serial drama series range from youth empowerment, sexual and reproductive health, menstruation, peer pressure, cyber bullying, alcohol, drug abuse and many more.
“I am sure when you look within, there are adults who live exemplary lives that you can trust, please speak to them.
They can be your parents or teachers.
Sometimes these adults, especially parents, do not know it all, so you need to keep them posted at every point in your life,“ he said.
For her part, actress Jackie Appiah, who was one of the resource persons, urged the students to make good use of social media considering the fact that it had become a powerful tool, saying, “use social media wisely and positively.”
YOLO
YOLO is a follow-up to the popular series, Things We Do For Love, which was telecast in the early 2000s.
The new season filmed primarily in Tamale and in several areas in Accra, addresses issues such as COVID-19, maternal and child health, disability and other related topics.
YOLO is produced by Farmhouse Productions Limited in collaboration with the National Population Council, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Source: graphic.com.gh
