A youth between boy and man; an awkward, gawky young fellow.
“Oh gawky youth” is a phrase I may never have uttered aloud but which surfaces in my mind at times. My use of the phrase is meant as a reversal of the words on the frieze of the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. That frieze quotes Ecclesiastes with the word “REJOICE, O YOUNG MAN, IN THY YOUTH,” a phrase that seemed righteous to me when I saw its commanding presence on the wall of that (to me, at the time) august institution in 1990 but which new seems like a hoarse inspiration.
It is a bible verse whose providence I think could be challenged. Raw, barbaric yawps of youth are rarely beautiful or of much merit, but as a culture for which only the past is golden we mine youthful jeremiads for their sincerity and money-making potential. Depending on the context the verse could imply that one should exalt themselves in any medium they fancy, a philosophy which is possibly to blame for Karaoke.
In the more prescient context it reminds me of the impressive introductory address given to the freshman class by the president of my college. He said “Screw up big time.” He may have used expletives to make his point, which was that college and youth are the times in your life when screwing up is allowed, and when learning from mistakes is most valuable. These opportunities to get away with getting things wrong become fewer and fewer in life, and you would regret not screwing up if your life came crashing in under the weight of that first error of judgment.
