I think one of the biggest fears young people carry today is the fear of becoming nobody.
It is a quiet fear, but it shows up everywhere. In conversations about money. In the pressure to succeed early. In the panic people feel when they think they are “falling behind.” Sometimes it feels like everybody is racing toward something, terrified that slowing down even for a moment will leave them forgotten.
Growing up, success always sounded distant to me. It was something adults talked about seriously, something that belonged to the future. But now, it feels like the future has arrived too quickly. Suddenly, people my age are expected to have plans, goals, income, direction, purpose , as if confusion is no longer allowed once you reach a certain age.
In many Nigerian homes, there is little space for uncertainty. You are expected to become somebody. Not eventually, but soon. Parents make sacrifices and naturally hope their children will succeed. Relatives ask questions about your future at family gatherings. Everybody wants reassurance that your life is moving forward.
Sometimes it feels like your worth becomes attached to achievement.
And social media only makes that pressure louder.
Every day, there is somebody younger becoming successful online. Somebody starting a business. Somebody relocating. Somebody living a life that looks polished and stable. After a while, it becomes difficult not to compare yourself. Even when you try not to, the comparisons happen quietly in your mind.
You start wondering if you are doing enough.
I think that is why so many young people are exhausted. Not just physically, but emotionally. There is constant pressure to become impressive. To turn hobbies into income. To monetize talents. To always be productive. Rest starts feeling guilty because everywhere around you, people seem to be moving faster.
Sometimes I miss when life was allowed to be slower.
I miss when people could dream without immediately worrying about survival. Because the truth is, many young people are not only chasing success for validation. Some are chasing stability. Some are trying to escape poverty. Some simply want a softer life than the one they grew up watching their parents struggle through.
And honestly, that pressure can make life feel heavy.
I have noticed how easily people tie their identity to achievement now. When things are going well, they feel valuable. When they are struggling, they feel like failures. It becomes difficult to separate who you are from what you have accomplished.
But human beings were never meant to live like machines.
I do not think there is anything wrong with ambition. Wanting more for yourself is natural. Wanting comfort, success, or recognition does not make someone shallow. But I think it becomes dangerous when people begin to believe their entire value depends on becoming “somebody” in the eyes of others.
Because what happens if success takes time?
What happens if your life unfolds differently from the people around you?
I think many people are secretly afraid that they are running out of time, even though they are still so young. There is this invisible deadline hanging over everybody’s head. By a certain age, you should have money. Direction. Accomplishments. A clear future. And if you do not, it can feel like life is punishing you for not moving fast enough.
But maybe life is not meant to happen all at once.
Maybe becoming somebody is not about impressing the world. Maybe it is about slowly becoming a person you can genuinely recognize and feel at peace with.
And maybe that kind of growth cannot be rushed.